2 dera men held for bid to influence witness

MOGA: The district police have booked four Dera Sacha Sauda followers and arrested two of them for trying to influence a witness in the 2015 Malke sacrilege case.

While Sukhmander Singh and Gurmail Singh of Malke village in Moga have been arrested, Mithu Singh and Amardeep Singh, also from the same village, are on the run, said the police.

Sukhmander and Gurmail have been sent to two-day police custody.

On November 4, 2015, torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered on the streets of Malke village in Moga district, triggering statewide protests. A case under Sections 295A and 295 was registered against unidentified persons in Moga.

Moga SSP Amarjit Singh Bajwa said a hunt has been launched to arrest Mithu and Amardeep. A case has been registered under Sections 116, 193 false evidence, 195-A, 506 and 120-B of the IPC at the Samalsar police station at Moga on the complaint of Sewak Singh, a witness in the case, he said.

A probe was ordered by the SSP after Sewak alleged that two dera followers tried to bribe him for giving statement in the favour of the accused.

“Mithu’s brother Gurmail and Amardeep’s father Sukhmander threatened to kill me and my family members if I don’t change my statement in the court. Later, they handed gave me an undated cheque for ₹2 lakh and promised another cheque of the same amount if I turned hostile. But I refused to budge,” Sewak stated in his complaint.

The cheque was also attached with the complaint.