Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami accepted the resignation of SGPC member Amarjit Singh Chawla and terminated the services of Akal Takht additional head granthi Malkit Singh on Tuesday. He also formed a four-member committee to investigate the rape case against Chawla. These actions come a day after both were excommunicated by the highest Sikh temporal seat.
The SGPC president has faced criticism for his silence regarding the issue. Questions are being raised about who arranged for her travel from Bahrain and why she was given special treatment in the gurdwara serais. SGPC secretary Balwinder Singh Kahlwan will serve as the coordinator of the committee. He added that the resignation tendered through a video by Chawla from the post of SGPC member had also been accepted. However, the move of constituting a probe panel by the SGPC president did not go down well with the Sikh bodies. It is ridiculous that the party against which the allegations have been levelled is conducting the probe and it will act as judge finally. No SGPC member from the opposition have been included in the probe panel. How would this panel investigate the matter impartially and fairly? “Since the president’s own role needs to be investigated in this case, Dhami should resign on moral grounds and submit himself to the inquiry. His employees and close associates simply cannot conduct an impartial investigation into his role,” he added.
According to the first information report (FIR) registered against Chawla on the complainant of a Bahrain-based woman on August 21 at Sri Anandpur Sahib Police Station, immoral acts allegedly took place within the serais of Takht Kesgarh Sahib during her extended stay. Dhami said although a departmental inquiry into the matter was already being conducted by the SGPC, the newly constituted committee would examine all aspects related to the matter and submit its report to the SGPC within 15 days.
In a video statement issued here, Dhami said to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter, a committee comprising SGPC members has been formed, which comprises SGPC executive member Baldev Singh Kaimpur, members Gurmeet Singh Booh, Gurbakhsh Singh Khalsa and Gurinder Kaur Bholuwala. Dhami said that in connection with the allegations levelled by the woman, Malkit Singh had been relieved of his services in accordance with the decision of the Akal Takht. He said that the police investigation should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner. Alliance of Sikh Organisations leader Sukhdev Singh Phagwara said, “The SGPC is befooling the panth in the name of getting the matter investigated by the panel.
