Biometrics fail to identify Golden Temple sacrilege suspect

GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, December 20

Two days after the alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple, the police are clueless about the identity of the deceased suspect. In a setback for the special investigation team probing the incident, the fingerprints of the deceased didn’t match with any biometric record on the Aadhaar database or the police record.

Also read: Golden Temple sacrilege suspect’s photo released, booked for murder bid

The police are now tracking the route taken by the suspect to reach the shrine by scanning CCTV footage from the ISBT, railway station and other places. Police Commissioner Sukhchain Singh Gill confirmed that the deceased’s identity was still a mystery. He said it was difficult to track the suspect’s movement since multiple narrow lanes led to the shrine. “The biometric methodology failed to yield any result. We have appealed to the public to share any information they have about the man whose photograph has been circulated. The identity of the informer will not be revealed,” he said. Sources said the suspect, who was in his mid-twenties, seemed to be from outside Punjab, possibly from Uttar Pradesh, but there was no confirmation yet.

Questions unanswered

SGPC claims suspect was intercepted by staff multiple times. Why then was the matter not taken seriously?

Suspect was taken into custody by staff for questioning minutes after the ‘sacrilege’. Why were cops not called?