SGPC suspended its secretary Partap Singh after the five-member sub-committee, led by executive member Harjinder Kaur, found his signature genuine in the unauthorised sale of 44 marlas of prime land belonging to Mohali’s Gurdwara Amb Sahib land.
Shahbaz Singh, additional secretary of SGPC, on Tuesday, confirming the development, said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, promptly took the decision after the sub-committee submitted its report on Monday.
Interestingly, on the complaint of SGPC secretary Partap Singh, the Mohali police had registered a case of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy against seven persons, including a gurdwara manager, in connection with the alleged sale of 2.2 kanal land of Gurdwara Amb Sahib’s land in Saini Majra village, near IT City, on February 9. He had even once led an SGPC delegation to meet Deputy Commissioner Mohali.
On a complainant filed by Pratap Singh, the police have booked gurdwara manager Rajinder Singh, Gurinder Singh, Talwinder Singh, Satbir, Baljinder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Gurcharan Singh for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. It was alleged that fake documents were prepared in the office of the Sub-Registrar, Sector 76, and the accused carried out the land registration on December 2.
At that time SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had constituted a five-member committee to probe the matter. The committee had suspended Gurdwara Amb Sahib manager Rajinder Singh after a row had erupted over the alleged sale of 44 marlas in Sainimajra village in IT City (Sector 101), owned by Gurdwara Amb Sahib. The land was reportedly sold to various buyers for Rs 1.32 crore and the registration was done at the Sub-Registrar Office, Mohali, on December 2 last year.
While revenue records show that the land belongs to the gurdwara, the sale deed mentions that the alleged land does not belong to any religious institution.
The lapse came to light after the village residents Satwinder Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sukhvir Singh and Randhir Singh had written to SGPC after the alleged fraudulent deal.
A member of SGPC from Mohali, Paramjit Kaur Landran, had said: “No advertisement was given regarding the sale of this land. If there had been an open auction, the land would have been sold for a price of Rs 15 to 20 crore. She sought cancellation of the land deal.”
On February 13, SGPC took away those gurdwaras, which fall under Section 85 of the Sikh Gurudwara Act, from Partap Singh and gave these to Gurinder Singh Mathrewal, Additional Secretary SGPC. Mathrewal would independently report the matters of these gurdwaras directly to SGPC chief secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan for further documentation to Dhami.
It prompted opposition leaders, including, Giani Harpreet Singh, president of SAD (Punar Surjit), a breakaway Akali faction, to accuse SGPC for shielding its higher official Partap Singh and terming his signature forged, adding that the they arrived at the decision before the conclusion of the probe, here on February 17