Dera men confess to involvement in 5 sacrilege cases

FARIDKOT : Special investigation team (SIT) head deputy inspector general Ranbir Singh Khatra on Saturday said that four Dera Sacha Sauda followers arrested in the Gurusar sacrilege case have confessed to their involvement in five more desecration incidents reported in and around Gurusar and Bhagta Bhai ka villages in Bathinda district in 2015.

A Bathinda court sent three dera followers, including Sukhmander Singh, Daljit Singh and Kuldeep Singh, residents of Bhagta Bhai Ka village, who were arrested on Friday, to police remand till November 13. The fourth accused, Jatinderbir Arora, alias Jimmy, who was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, on November 7, is already on a five-day police remand.

On Saturday, the SIT also conducted a search at Arora’s house at Bhagta Bhai Ka village. The SIT is investigating two cases of sacrilege — November 2015 case at Mal Ke village in Moga district and October 2015 case at Gurusar village in Bathinda district.

A case under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against unidentified persons on the complaint of Iqbal Singh, president of the gurdwara management committee at the Dialpura police station.