FIR AFTER ‘SAROOP’ OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB GOT BURNT IN RUDRAPUR VILLAGE

A ‘saroop’ of the holy Guru Granth Sahib was found burnt in a multi-faith worship place at a village in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, following which a first information report (FIR) was registered, the police said on Wednesday.

Police said prima facie, it appears that a short circuit led to a fire in the worship place in which the holy book was burnt. The police, however, said they have collected forensic evidence to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

The FIR was registered against an unidentified person under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code at Rudrapur police station following a complaint from Harvinder Singh of Shimla Pistor village in Rudrapur.

In his police complaint, Harvinder Singh said, “Around 6.30 am, a fellow villager Harish Kumar informed me that smoke could be seen billowing out of the worship place, following which I alerted the manager of the Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Gole Market”.

“People informed us that the incident took place after the wife of a Hindu priest allegedly visited the place.The holy book was burnt completely. However, nothing happened to the clothes worn by Hindu idols at a distance of just two feet. It clearly suggests that somebody has committed the act to promote enmity in the society,” the complainant told the police. HT has seen the copy of the complaint.

“The building is under construction. It was decided that the Sikh holy book will be rested in a separate building adjoining the current place. The incident is unfortunate. We have been living with the Hindu community in the village for years. I don’t think anyone from the village can do that,” he said. Udham Singh Nagar senior superintendent of police Manjunath TC said, “Prima facie, it appears that the holy book was burnt in an accident. Probe is underway.