Sacrilege panel submits report, points finger at dera followers

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 30

The Justice Ranjit Singh Commission of Inquiry, set up by the Capt Amarinder Singh government last year to look into incidents of sacrilege in 2015, has pointed a finger at followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, including confidants of sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The final report on the incidents in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari, Gurusar, Mallke and Behbal Kalan villages of Faridkot between May and October 2015, was submitted by the retired High Court judge to the CM here on Saturday. 

The Justice Zora Singh Commission of Inquiry, set up by then Akali-BJP government, had submitted its report on June 30, 2016. The Capt Amarinder government had rejected this report as “inconclusive” and set up another Commission of Inquiry in April 2017.

Though Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) refused to share details of the inquiry report, saying it was the government’s prerogative to make it public, official sources confirmed to The Tribune that the report had elaborated on the role of dera followers in the sacrilege incidents at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala (June 1, 2015) and nearby village of Bargari (intervening night of October 11-12, 2015).

Sources said the report has corroborated findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police, led by Ranbir Singh Khatra. The team found that a “bir” of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala to avenge an attempt made by a supporter of preacher Panthpreet Singh to bring dera Premis back into the Sikh fold. Certain Premis, including the incharge of the dera chief’s security, hatched a conspiracy. It was only after the SIT identified the shop (owned by a bhangi das or dera block president) that sold the pen and sheets of paper, used for printing posters pasted in Bargari village, that they were led to the men involved in sacrilege.

Talking to The Tribune, Justice Ranjit Singh said the 200-page report was the final one on the incidents of sacrilege in Faridkot district, besides a report on the role of police in investigating these incidents as well as the police action in Kotkapura in October 2015. 

In a press release, Capt Amarinder said the report was being forwarded to the Advocate General and Home Secretary. They would examine the findings and suggest action for bringing the guilty to book.

The trigger

• Sources said the panel’s inquiry report had corroborated findings of the SIT, which found that a ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 1, 2015, to avenge an attempt made by a supporter of Sikh preacher Panthpreet Singh to bring dera followers (Premis) back into the Sikh fold.
• The ‘bir’ was then kept at a house for over three months before its pages were torn and strewn in nearby village of Bargari.