Punjab deputy CM suspends officers for 'lapse'
Moga Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Charanjit Sharma was suspended by Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister for alleged "lapses in duty." Sharma was the SSP of Faridkot when the holy book Gurugranth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara there after which violent clashed errupted in the city. The suspension came following the special investigation team's recommendation on the case.
Tensions erupted on 12 October after torn-pages from the holy book were found in village Bargadi. It was later declared by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar that the pages were from the Guru-Granth Sahib stolen in June from Burj Jawahar Gurdwara, adjacent to Bargadi. An anonymous handwritten note with Dera Sacha Sauda invocation "Dhan Dhan Satguru" were found after the stealing.
Denying that the note had anything to do with his Dera, Sant Ram Raheem tweeted a swift denial on Twitter with the hashtag #MSGRespectAllReligion, saying he "condemned the desecration, and that those who did it were sinners (paapi)".
The tension in Faridkot was also fuelled following the controversial pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by the Akal Takht on 24 September 2015. The pardon by head priests of the five takhts (who are regarded as Shiromani Akali Dal's proxies) were criticised by several Sikh groups. This move was seen as a pre-election-move to keep Dera on SAD's side.
Police firing killed 2 people as protests over the alleged desecration of a Guru Granth Sahib gripped Fardikot. Another 80 people were injured due to "teargas, lathicharge and fired in the air" to end dharna by Sikhs in Faridkot. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asked for a judicial inquiry into the matter and the violence that ensued because of it.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal declared a reward of Rs.1 crore for anybody who furnishes information "leading to the arrest of those who desecrated the text."
The Akal Takht annulled its decree pardoning Gurmeet Singh, Dera Sacha Sauda chief in a 2007 blasphemy case due to the Sikh pressure. Various Sikh leaders welcomed the revoking by Akal Takht claiming that this undoing was very important. This annulment came largely due to the rising tensions in Punjab and the flak which the government was receiving from the opposition.
Some unidentified people allegedly tore off pages of the Guru Granth Sahib in a village in Ferozepur. This was the second such incident in Punjab. The pages were torn in Naju Shah Mishri village on Ferozepur-Zira road and a heavy group of people from the neighbouring villages. The police gathered to control the situation and no fatalities were recorded.
Moga Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Charanjit Sharma was suspended by Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister for alleged "lapses in duty." Sharma was the SSP of Faridkot when the holy book Gurugranth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara there after which violent clashed errupted in the city. The suspension came following the special investigation team's recommendation on the case.
