Justice Ranjit panel report to be tabled in monsoon session: CM

SACRILEGE CASES 1st part of report on Bargari incident and Behbal Kalan firing was submitted to the CM on June 30

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said that the Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission report on sacrilege cases in the state will be tabled in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha and legal action will be taken against all those found guilty by it.

Radical Sikh organisations have been protesting at Bargari from June 3, seeking that the government must make the report public. Sarbat Khalsa appointed Akal Takht Jathedar Dhian Singh Mand and Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Baljit Singh Daduwal are leading the stir there. A Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested a few Dera Sacha Sauda followers as conspirators of the sacrilege, with the Central Bureau of Investigation now investigating the case.

Interacting with party leaders, including, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Rana Gurjit Singh, Kikki Dhillon and Pargat Singh, Amarinder said, “The government has received the first part of the report, which is under legal scrutiny. The remaining parts of the report are expected soon. The complete report, along with the action taken report, will be tabled in the assembly.”

The Amarinder-led Congress government had set up the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission in April 2017 to investigate incidents of sacrilege of the holy Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts and the “incriminating” police firing on protesters.

The government had also rejected the findings of the Zora Singh Commission that the previous SAD-BJP government had set up to probe these cases.

On June 1, 2015, a ‘bir’ was stolen from the gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala. On October 12, 2015, torn pages of the ‘bir’ were found in front of a gurdwara at Bargari village. On October 14, 2015, two Sikh protesters were killed in police firing on a large number of people, who had gathered to protest against the Bargari sacrilege. These deaths led to huge resentment among Sikhs and protesters had blocked roads across the state for days.

Justice Ranjit Singh had submitted the first part of his report, pertaining to the Bargari sacrilege incident and the Behbal Kalan firing incident, along with some other important cases, to the CM on June 30. The chief minister had forwarded the report to the state home secretary and the advocate general to examine its findings and suggest action to be taken.