6 years on, probe into ‘bir’ theft hangs fire
SIT shifts focus on two other interlinked sacrilege cases, while supplementary chargesheet in this case is awaited
FARIDKOT: It has been six years since a “bir” (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot, but the probe into the case is yet to see the light of day as the special investigation team (SIT) has shifted focus on two other interlinked sacrilege cases. The probe team is yet to file a supplementary chargesheet in the case.
The “bir” was stolen on June 1, 2015, and a case was registered at the Bajakhana police station in the district the next day on the complaint of granthi Gora Singh. The SIT led by inspector general of police (IGP) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar is probing the “bir” theft case and two other interlinked cases wherein derogatory posters were put up at Bargari on September 24, 2015, night and torn pages of a “bir” were found scattered near Bargari gurdwara on October 12, 2015.
With the recent arrest of six Dera Sacha Sauda followers, the Parmar-led SIT is focusing on two other cases, while the probe into the bir theft case has come to a standstill.
The Akali-bjp government, led by Parkash Singh Badal, had handed over the probe into the three sacrilege incidents to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 26, 2015. In July 2019, the CBI filed a closure report, but withdrew it later to reinvestigate the matter.
The Captain Amarinder Singh government challenged the CBI move of reinvestigation and handed over the probe to the SIT led by DIG Ranbir Singh Khatra on April 22, 2019. In July last year, the SIT named jailed dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and national committee members Sandeep Bretta, Pardeep Kler and Harsh Dhuri, as accused in the “bir” theft case. The probe team also filed a chargesheet against seven dera men in the case.
In January this year, the Punjab and Haryana high court asked the state government to replace the head of the SIT probing sacrilege cases, after which IG Parmar was appointed as the new chief. The HC had also directed CBI to handover all the case files and asked the SIT to file a supplementary chargesheet in “bir” theft case after taking into account of the evidence filed by the CBI.
Though the central agency handed over the case files to Punjab Police on February 4, the SIT is yet to file a supplementary chargesheet. Officials said the probe team is finding it difficult to negate the facts stated by the CBI in its closure report.
2 events to mark sacrilege anniv
Shiromani Akali Dal (Samyukat) leaders Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa will reach Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, while members of Sikh outfits, including SAD (Amritsar), will go to Bargari to mark the sixth anniversary of sacrilege incident on Tuesday.
SAD (Amritsar) leader Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala said that Brahmpura and Dhindsa are working against the Sikh community by holding a separate event. “We observe the sacrilege anniversary every year at Bargari in protest, so why they are going to Burj Jawahar Singh Wala? They should have joined us,” he added.