A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted by the Punjab Bureau of Investigation to probe the case related to the alleged disappearance of 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) records.
Reacting to the development, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the government was interfering in the internal affairs of the Sikh body and challenging the authority of the Akal Takht.
“Action has already been taken against the accused as per an inquiry conducted by an Akal Takht-constituted panel. The government is giving a political colour to the case, which in reality was misappropriation of funds by staffers,” he said.
LK Yadav, Director, Punjab Bureau of Investigation, said the SIT would be headed by Jagatpreet Singh, AIG (Vigilance), SAS Nagar.
The other members of the team would be Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, DCP (Investigation), Amritsar, Harpal Singh Sandhu, Additional DCP, Police Commissionerate, Amritsar, Gurbans Singh Bains, SP(D), Patiala; Beant Juneja, ACP, Ludhiana, and Harminder Singh, ACP(D), Police Commissionerate, Amritsar.
The SIT would function under the supervision of Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar.
He said the Commissioner of Police had also been authorised to co-opt additional police officers into the SIT, with prior approval of the Punjab Bureau of Investigation in case such officers are posted outside the Police Commissionerate, Amritsar.
On December 21, the court of the Additional Sessions Judge had dismissed the bail applications of those booked in the case.
The case was registered on December 7 by the Amritsar police against 16 persons, most of whom are former SGPC officials and staffers, nearly five years after the issue first surfaced. The accused have been booked on several charges, including forgery, destruction of records and sacrilege.
The FIR was lodged on a complaint of Baldev Singh Wadala, a sacked hazuri raagi of the Golden Temple and head of the Sikh Sadbhawna Dal.
Wadala, along with his supporters, had staged a dharna on Heritage Street near the Golden Temple, demanding the registration of a case and strict action against those responsible for the missing saroops. During the protest, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan visited the site and informed the agitators about the registration of the FIR