4th such incident in 3 months; police for round-the-clock vigil

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, February 26

Another case of sacrilege was reported at a gurdwara in Jalandhar today. This is the second such incident in just two days.

We are emphasising the need for round-the-clock vigilance at gurdwaras to prevent such untoward incidents. Our beat officers are also visiting gurdwaras across villages. — Swarandeep Singh, SSP (Rural)

A man smoked and urinated on the gurdwara premises in Nandanpur on Saturday. The following day, a man ripped off the pages of copy of the Gutka Sahib lifted from a gurdwara, and scattered them across a park. As per the Jalandhar rural and city police, both the men are of unsound mind. The incident today marked the fourth such incident in Jalandhar in the past three months.

In light of such incidents, the Jalandhar police have said that they would be holding meets with gurdwara committees to depute men on the gurdwara premises to stand guard at all times.

On December 5, two persons were booked in connection with a sacrilege incident at a gurdwara at Mansoorpur village in Goraya. The duo had tried to break open the gurdwara “golak”, consumed liquor and used tobacco on the gurdwara premises. Another sacrilege incident was reported on January 10 in Jalandhar when a man at the Hamiri Khera Fatehpur village in Jalandhar mishandled shastars (weapons) kept inside the village gurdwara.

On December 7 last year (two days after the Mansoorpur incident), the district administration had ordered theekri pehras (night watch) from 8 pm to 5 am to be observed at religious places across all tehsils, sub-tehsils, towns and villages falling in Jalandhar district, until February 6.

The rural police had also asked panchayats and village gurdwara committees to depute at least two men on night watch at gurdwaras. WhatsApp groups were created for sarpanches and panchayats in this regard.

Harpal Singh Chadha of the Sikh Talmel Committee said, “Such incidents are becoming very frequent. The question is: Why are all these men targeting gurdwaras? The Gurdwara Prabandhak Committees also need to be more proactive in protecting their premises. The police have lodged an FIR in connection with the recent cases. If this persists, we will take up the issue formally.”

Harjinder Singh, the sarpanch of Dayalpur village in Jalandhar said, “None of the village panchayats is holding theekri pehras right now. But with such elements around, the prabandhak committees should at least depute men on day and night watch. Unruly elements can’t be allowed to saunter into gurdwaras.” SSP (Rural) Swarandeep Singh said, “The police cannot watch over all the gurdwaras all the time, so we are seeking out the active engagement of gurdwara committees.”