Granthi held for molesting minors

Tribune News Service

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Moga, November 28

The Moga police have arrested a granthi, Gurjit Singh, of Vehniwal village for allegedly molesting girls. Gurjit was working as a granthi (priest) at Baba Jeewan Singh Gurdwara in Indergarh village of Dharamkot subdivision. He has been accused of molesting many minor girls who used to visit the gurdwara to learn “gurbani” from him.

A case under Section 354-A of the IPC and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, has been registered against him at the Dharamkot police station, said ASI Sunita Rani.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Gurjit had been working at the gurudwara for over three years. He was also teaching “gurbani” to children. Last week, these children suddenly stopped going to the gurdwara. When the children were asked about the reason, it came to light that the granthi used to take the girls to a room on the gurudwara premises and physically abuse them.

The parents of the girls initially hesitated to file a police complaint but when some influential people of the village approached them, parents of at least three girls agreed to give a written complaint to the police. On the basis of their complaint, the police registered a case against him. —TNS