The Patiala police claimed to have cracked the Samana sacrilege case, even as traders and protesters face off looks likely in the coming days.
Patiala SP Gurbans Singh Bains said they had identified some school going students aged around five years after analysing CCTV footage.
“The students told us that they found the holy book from a scrap dealer’s shop and picked it up. On their way to school, they threw the pages. However, we are still probing the matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, the protesters today received support from SAD (Punar Surjit) faction, who held a protest in support of the Samana Tower Morcha.
In Patiala, a dharna was held outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in under the leadership of former cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.
Protesters demanded immediate enactment of a law to prevent the sacrilege of religious scriptures, with a significant public turnout.
Rakhra criticised the government for failing to act on its promises regarding sacrilege cases, even after four years in power. He also referred to the ongoing struggle of Gurjeet Singh Khalsa.
Former Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh also raised concern over repeated sacrilege incidents and called for “legal action to uphold the sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib”.
In Samana, traders said the blockade had pushed them towards financial distress. “Navratras are starting from tomorrow and the administration has done nothing to resolve the issue. We are already suffering losses. We support a stringent anti-sacrilege law, but the dharna is now affecting our business,” said local shopkeepers.
For the past one month, around 100 protesters are holding an indefinite dharna in Samana in support of Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who has been protesting atop a 400-foot tower since October 12, 2024, demanding a stringent anti-sacrilege law