Mohalgarh villagers in Patiala declared ‘tankhaiya’ following sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib

Amritsar, October 22

Residents of Mohalgarh village of Patiala district were awarded ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) by the Panj Pyaras on the charge of being negligent leading to sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ‘saroop’ at a village gurdwara recently.

Hundreds of villagers had come to Akal Takht wearing a tag around their neck admitting their mistake and seeking apology.

Akal Takht’s head granthi Giani Malkit Singh said all residents of the village felt that they were guilty of negligence for the sacrilege incident and had appeared before the Panj Pyaras for atonement.

“They were directed to perform ‘sewa’ at Gurdwara Dukhnivaran Sahib for five days. During this span, they will wash utensils, clean devotees’ shoes and the gurwara premises for three hours daily. On the completion of ‘tankhah’, they will organise Akhand Path and Ardas in the gurdwara. They would also form a gurdwara committee of Amritdhari members,” he said.

Sacrilege took place on Oct 19

• A sacrilege incident took place on October 19 at the gurdwara when the accused Harpreet Singh allegedly tore pages of the holy saroop and then set it on fire
• He was arrested under Sections 295, 295 A, 297 and 120 B of the IPC. A gurdwara priest has also been booked under the same sections