Greet Hindus, but want restoration of demolished gurdwaras: Takht

AMRITSAR : Breaking his silence over the ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya to which he was invited, Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Friday congratulated the Hindus for the inauguration of the construction, but wanted restoration of certain gurdwaras, which were demolished in various states in the country.

“The Hindu society is going to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya. I offer them congratulations. I would like to say that Gurdwara Gian Godri in Haridwar, Gurdwara Dangmar Sahib in Sikkim and Gurdwara Mangu Mutt at Puri in Odisha are as important for Sikhs as Ram Temple for Hindus,” he says, in a Whatsapp video. The jathedar adds, “We would like to ask the Centre to pay attention toward these holy shrines.”

These three shrines are related to Sikhism founder, Guru Nanak.

KOTTAYAM:A Kerala court on Friday granted bail to former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal on a fresh bail bond in connection with the nun rape case.

Kottayam additional district court judge G Gopakumar also recalled the non-bailable warrants against him and cancelled the proceedings against the old sureties and listed the matter for further hearing on August 13.

Mulakkal was directed to remain in the state till the next date of hearing and was also asked to participate in the trial of the case without fail. Earlier, the court had cancelled the bail granted to Mulakkal and issued a non-bailable warrant against him after he repeatedly failed to appear before the trial court.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Mulakkal’s plea seeking to discharge him from the case without a trial.

The Kerala high court and a trial court had earlier refused to discharge him in the case. Mulakkal, a former head of the diocese of Jalandhar, had sought from the trial court to quash charges against him claiming that the rape survivor had implicated him after he took action against her for financial irregularities in the convent. In June 2018, the nun, who is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation in Punjab, had complained to the police in Kottayam that Mulakkal raped her.