Amritsar: Man Beaten To Death After Alleged Sacrilege Attempt At Golden Temple

Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal has expressed shock over the alleged attempt to commit sacrilege at Golden Temple while suspecting a “deep-rooted conspiracy” behind it. 

Amritsar: Activists of various Sikh organisations gather outside the Golden Temple after a man was beaten to death at the temple premises for alleged sacrilege, in Amritsar, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: A man was beaten to death after he allegedly attempted to commit sacrilege inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday, news agency PTI reported.

The deceased, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, had jumped golden grills inside the sanctum sanctorum during the evening prayers. 

He picked a sword and reached near the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib. He was caught by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee task force members.

When the man was being taken to the SGPC office, the angry crowd thrashed him badly that later led to his death, reported PTI.

“Today, one 24-25 years old man barged inside (Golden Temple) where the holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) is kept. He tried desecrating it with a sword; was taken out by Sangat people; died in the altercation,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Parminder Singh Bhandal told news agency ANI.

DCP Bhandal informed that the man’s antecedents were being verified.

All CCTV cameras were being checked to find out about the time when he entered the Golden Temple and how many people were with him.

Following the incident, a large number of Sikh devotees and various Sikh outfits criticised the SGPC for its laxity.

Meanwhile, a heavy police force has been deployed around the SGPC complex at Teja Singh Samundri Hall in order to maintain law and order.

Punjab CM Condemns Incident, AAP & SAD Suspect Conspiracy

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi directed state authorities to thoroughly probe the matter and find the “real conspirators” behind the alleged sacrilege attempt at the Sri Harimandir Sahib.

“CM @CharanjitChanni strongly condemned the most unfortunate and heinous act to attempt sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Harimandir Sahib during the path of Sri Rehras Sahib,” CMO Punjab tweeted.

“CM directed state police authorities to thoroughly probe into entire matter to zero in at the underlying motive and real conspirators behind this dastardly act,” another tweet from CMO Punjab read.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal condemned the incident as he tweeted: “The incident of sacrilege in Shri Darbar Sahib today is very sad. Everybody is in shock. This could be a big conspiracy. The culprits should get severe punishment“.

Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal has expressed shock over the alleged attempt to commit sacrilege at Golden Temple while also suspecting a “deep-rooted conspiracy” behind the incident. 

In a statement, the SAD president said that it is impossible to believe that this could be the act of just one person. 

“There clearly is a deep-rooted conspiracy behind it. Never since the Mughals, the Masands and the Operation Bluestar has the sanctity of Harmandar Sahib been made the target of such outrage. This is beyond belief,” he stated, as quoted by ANI. 

Sukhbir Badal further expressed that the development has left the entire Sikh population in a state of shock. 

According to him, there seems to be a “conspiracy to inflict wounds of Sikh minds and to disturb peace and communal harmony” in the state. 

The Punjab opposition leader also came down heavily against the state government saying that there were strong indications of such a conspiracy being weaved.

“Only the other day, there was a shocking incident of gutka sahib being thrown in the holy sarovar. After that, the state agencies could not have been unaware of a deep rooted conspiracy that led to today’s shocking sequent of events. But no one did anything nor took any steps to prevent such a heinous crime from happening. What are the intelligence agencies doing?” Badal questioned. 

The former Deputy chief minister stressed that those at the helm have a lot to answer.  

(With Inputs From Agencies)