SIT to quiz Patiala gurdwara mgmt committee members

MISSING SAROOP Police say the committee comprising 11 members has said that none of them has seen the saroop

PATIALA :Around a month after a saroop of the Guru Granth Sahib went missing from the Ardaspura Sahib Gurdwara, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to look into the case has decided to question the members of the gurdwara management committee. The move comes after SIT found that none of the 11 committee members said they had seen the saroop, even before it was found to be missing.

Inspector general Jatinder Singh Aulakh, who is supervising the probe, said, “The SIT has decided to send a questionnaire as in our probe to date, we have found that the management committee comprising 11 members have said that they have not seen the saroop. Some told us that they were not aware of fact that such a saroop is present. To ascertain the truth, we have sent them a questionnaire. Now, we will ask them to join investigation.”

He added except a lone woman, who has said that she saw the saroop two-and-a-half months ago, no one else has

It is emerging that the committee members were negligent towards their duty of management of gurdwara, particularly in this case. JATINDER SINGH AULAKH, inspector general

stated before the police that the saroop was there over the past years.

“The president of the committee of this gurdwara, Satpal Singh, has also said that he has never seen such a saroop. Prima facie, it is emerging that the committee members were negligent towards their duty of management of gurdwara, particularly in this case,” the IG added. Most members of the committee are from Akali background.

The police are to question another resident, Gora Singh, in the case, after he recovers from covid-19.