Tension grips Punjab’s Morinda after sacrilege incident

Tension gripped Morinda town in Rupnagar district of Punjab following a sacrilege incident at famous Gurudwara Kotwali Sahib. The videos of this incident went viral in minutes and showed a youth jumping over the grills of sanctum sanctorum attacking Granthis and shoving away the Guru Granth Sahib. He was overpowered by those present and brutally thrashed before being handed over to the police.

Sikh devotees shut shops and blocked roads seeking immediate action in the incident. A call has been raised by local religious leaders for devotees to join in at the earliest. This incident a day after the arrest of Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh has brought authorities on their toes. The police have stepped up security in the town and urged people to maintain peace. This incident has triggered a political issue with different leaders engaging in the same.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami has accused the current government of a lax attitude in upholding the respect of Sikhism. He has demanded exemplary punishment for the youth to put an end to such incidents and also warned of consequences if the government doesn’t punish the accused properly.

“It’s sad that there is no end to such attempts and incidents of sacrilege. The government didn’t take any strict action in the past and thus people muster the courage to touch Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. If exemplary punishments are given, no one will have the courage to commit such a heinous crime. The matter should be seriously investigated so that the forces behind this incident can be brought to light. If the government and the police try to cover up, then this will not be good,” said SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami.

Reacting to the incident Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said, “Guru Granth Sahib ji’s honour is top priority for the government and the culprits will be severely punished. Today’s incident of sacrilege is highly condemnable and we will not spare anyone for this incident.”

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) however has accused AAP for the incident with party president Sukhbir Singh Badal saying, “It seems the deplorable act of sacrilege in Morinda is a devious ploy by the badly cornered AAP government to deflect attention from the arrest of Amritpal Singh, repression against Sikhs and failure to maintain peace and communal harmony. The real culprits must be identified and punished.”