Over 100 booked for hurting religious sentiments, trespassing on shrine premises

The police have booked at least 100 persons for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of a community by trespassing premises of Dera Nar Singh Dass Kali Mata Mandir on Monday, with an intent to cause hurt, and for issuing statements that could incite violence and hatred.

Mohammad Shakil of Saddopur, Inderjit Singh alias Mahant Inderjit Dass of Klaundi village, Gurmit Singh of Mahmadpur village, Tirlochan Singh of Salar village, Tarsem Singh of Pandori village in Barnala, Jujhar Singh Mahmadpur, Sukhvir Singh Pandori Barnala, Hardeep Singh Pandori and Mohammad Kabir of Jamalpura, besides 100 unknown persons were booked in a case registered at City I Police Station late in the evening on Monday.

Accused Inderjit Singh, who claimed to be legal heir of late Mahant Ram Dass, Jujhar Singh and Sukhdev Singh are absconding but six other identified accused have been arrested from different places.

DSP (H) Manavjit Singh Sidhu said the police had initiated a probe into an incident in which some armed persons had  attempted to take possession of the premises of a religious organisation run under a management committee. An FIR under relevant sections of BNS was registered on the statement of Kamal Modi, an executive member of the committee running affairs of the religious place.

Assuring that strict action would be taken against intruders, the police have appealed to residents to maintain peace at all costs and beware of rumour-mongers.

“Having registered an FIR and arrested the accused leading the mob, we have initiated investigations intothe sequence of events leading to the unsavoury situation on Monday when a group of persons attempted to take possession of the premises which are run by the management committee currently,” said Sidhu.

Office-bearers and activists of the management committee running affairs of the shrine and its inn alleged that a group of unauthorised persons, pretending to be saints and nihangs, had tried to take possession of the premises forcibly by threatening members.

The intruders were also accompanied by activists of an outfit carrying banners of ‘Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Union’ and wearing saffron attire bearing ‘Inderjit Dass’.

Similar attempts to dislodge the current committee were reportedly made in the past too when late Mahant Ram Dass had claimed to be the authorised owner of the premises, they said.

Now ‘Inderjit’, claiming to be the successor of Mahant Ram Dass, was attempting to take forcible possession of the shrine, they said.