The employees of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), who were dismissed in 2020 after being “indicted” in the alleged disappearance of 328 “saroops” of Guru Granth Sahib, have volunteered to join the investigation. The probe is being done by a special investigation team (SIT) formed by the Punjab Bureau of Investigation.
The Amritsar police, on December 7, registered a case against 16 individuals, mostly former SGPC officials and staff, nearly five years after the matter had surfaced. They were booked on the charges of forgery, destruction of record and sacrilege.
Meanwhile, the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, had dismissed their bail applications. SGPC’s former deputy secretary Gurbachan Singh and former in charge of the SGPC publication department Paramdeep Singh said they welcome the government’s initiative of conducting a probe through an SIT.
Paramdeep said he was never part of the publication department during the period the “saroops” were found missing from the record. He said others booked in the case, Jujhar Singh, Dalbir Singh and Manjit Singh, had also given their consent to join the investigation.
“We believe the SIT investigation will be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, unlike the SGPC, which sacked us on frivolous grounds,” he said.
Former supervisor of the SGPC publication department Gurmukh Singh said for the past over five years, they had been living with the “blot” of involvement in missing “saroops”, whereas the real culprits enjoyed immunity due to their political connections.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar who has been entrusted with the task of supervising the SIT probe said the interrogation of the suspects would be undertaken thoroughly to unearth the “nexus” involved in the case.
On the directions of Akal Takht, a three-member committee was formed under advocate Isher Singh of the Telangana High Court. In the 1,000-page inquiry report, submitted to the Akal Takht on August 24, 2020, the committee had found that 328 “saroops” had gone missing from the publication department during 2013-14 and 2014-15.
The SGPC executive had dismissed some “erring” employees while others were suspended. Dr Roop Singh, the then chief secretary, had tendered his resignation.
Ambiguity in FIR
Several discrepancies were reportedly noted in the FIR lodged on a complaint of Baldev Singh Wadala, a sacked hazuri raagi of the Golden Temple and head of the Sikh Sadbhawna Dal, which spearheaded dharna on Heritage Street on way to the Golden Temple since 2020. Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had visited the dharna site lately and the FIR was lodged.
Out of 16 persons named in the FIR, three had already died and several names were wrongly mentioned.
SGPC’s former deputy secretary Nishan Singh and a sewadar Amarjit Singh were no more, when the FIR was lodged. Similarly, Paramjeet Singh and Gurcharan Singh have been wrongly mentioned in the FIR.
Paramjeet Singh is actually Paramdeep Singh and Gurcharan Singh was mistaken as former chief secretary of the SGPC Harcharan Singh, who had died long ago. A police personnel, preferring anonymity, said the FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint, but it would be rectified during the investigation