3 more Dera Sacha Sauda followers held

BATHINDA :Punjab Police on Sunday arrested three more followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda for their alleged involvement in sacrilege incidents in the state.

Special investigation team (SIT) investigating the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari, Faridkot, arrested dera follower Deepak of Muktsar in connection with a sacrilege at Gurusar village in Bathinda. With this, the SIT has arrested five dera followers in this case.

Pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found at Gurusar village on October 20, 2015, six days after police firing on anti-sacrilege protesters at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan.

Meanwhile, the Bathinda district police on Sunday arrested two dera followers in connection with sacrilege of a ‘gutka’ (a small book of essential verses from Guru Granth Sahib) at Bhagta Bhai Ka in June 2016. Confirming the arrests, Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nanak Singh identified the duo as Sadhu Singh and Amarjit Beldar.

SGPC SEALS 2 SHOPS OF DERA FOLLOWERS

A team of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Sunday sealed its two shops at the Bhagta Bhai Ka bus stand. These shops had been allotted to two followers of Dera Sacha Sauda who have been arrested in connection with sacrilege at Gurusar village in 2015.

Jatinderbir Arora, a member of the dera’s state committee, was arrested on Wednesday when he returned from Malaysia. Besides his, a shop allotted to another accused, Kuldeep Singh, was also sealed.

DEEPAK OF MUKTSAR ACCUSED OF SACRILEGE AT GURUSAR, BATHINDA, IN OCTOBER 2015; TWO ARRESTED IN 2016 CASE