SGPC member, aide of Langah apologise before Akal Takht

BOTH HAVE STATED THAT THEY ARE DEDICATED TO THE AKAL TAKHT AND WILL ACCEPT WHATEVER RELIGIOUS PUNISHMENT IS GIVEN TO THEM

AMRITSAR: A day after being declared ‘tankhaya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) for playing a role in pardoning of former Akali minister Sucha Singh Langah, and being excommunicated by the Akal Takht, SGPC member Gurinderpal Singh Gora and Rattan Singh Zaffarwal, who is husband of another SGPC member, visited the highest Sikh temporal seat on Wednesday to tender written apology.

Langah who served as an SGPC member, was excommunicated by the Akal Takht after a video allegedly showing him in an objectionable position with a woman was circulated on the social media back in 2017.

At Gurdwara Baba Banda Singh Bahadar, Garhi Gurdas Nangal, in Gurdaspur district, which is managed by the apex gurdwara body, Langah was pardoned during ‘amrit sanchar’ (a Sikh ceremony to grant nectar to aspirants).

As the pardon triggered a row in the Sikh community and was considered a challenge to the authority of Akal Takht, jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had called an emergency meeting of the ‘Panj Singh Sahiban’ on Tuesday.

After the meeting, the jathedar pronounced the verdict from the Takht, holding Gora and Jaffarwal ‘tankhaya’.

In their apologies, both have stated that they are dedicated to the Akal Takht and will accept whatever ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) is given to them.