Jalandhar: After two people were lynched within a span of 24 hours last weekend in Punjab, the issue of sacrilege has once again taken centre stage in the state.
More than six years ago, several cases of sacrilege were reported in Faridkot. On October 14, 2015, the police opened fire at the people protesting against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Behbal kotalan and Kotkapura in the district. Two protesters, Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh, were killed and six others were injured.
Political commentators have said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP government was ousted in the 2017 elections because of the way it handled the sacrilege cases. At the time, the Congress had promised to deliver justice – not just regarding the sacrilege cases but also to the families of those killed in police firing.
Now, with elections around the corner again, the two alleged incidents of sacrilege have once again caused a political storm. None of the major political parties have condemned the two lynchings, although they have described the sacrilege as a ‘conspiracy’.
On December 16, two days before the alleged sacrilege at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, families of the two people who were killed in the police shooting at Behbal Kalyan, along with Sikh religious groups and activists, relaunched an indefinite dharna, demanding justice.
“Had the Punjab government delivered justice in our case, the Amritsar and Kapurthala sacrilege cases would not have taken place,” said Sadhu Singh, whose son Gurjeet was killed in the police firing.
Another person who is at the site is Sukhraj Singh, whose father Krishan Bhagwan Singh was also killed.
File photo of Gurjeet Singh (left) and Krishan Bhagwan Singh. Photo: Author provided
The victims’ families said that the demonstration will only end when justice is delivered. Dal Khalsa, a Sikh radical group, is supporting the demonstration along with the SAD (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann and Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (HSGPC) president Baljit Singh Daduwal.
Talking to The Wire from the Behbal Kalan village protest site, Sadhu Singh said, “After various commissions and investigations by the special investigation team (SIT), all that we have got is political statements and dates for hearing in the court. The Congress removed Amarinder Singh and appointed Channi as the chief minister. However, neither has taken the sacrilege issue seriously. Our only demand is that the government should act fast and punish the culprits behind the Bargari sacrilege and the Behbal Kalan police firing case.”
Six years have passed but no arrests have been made yet, Sukhraj Singh said, adding that the Congress had come to power in 2017 with the promise to deliver justice in the sacrilege cases. “The Congress party changed the chief minister because of the sacrilege cases. Chief minister Channi has not even spoken to us. Even if arrests are made, the accused get bail within months. Does that amount to justice?” he questioned.
Speaking about the Amritsar and Kapurthala incidents, Sukhraj said that if the Punjab government does not take the alleged sacrilege seriously, the issue would “escalate”.
Also read: Amritsar Lynching: Politicians Condemn Alleged Sacrilege but Remain Mum on Killing
Navjot Singh Sidhu visits protest site
On Monday afternoon, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu reached Behbal Kalan and met the families. Though he declared his support, Sidhu was confronted by some sharp questions from the protesters.
Sidhu went live on Twitter, where Sukhraj said that Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had claimed that if given the chance, he will deliver justice in the sacrilege cases ‘within one hour’. “Now he is the deputy chief minister. What is stopping him from taking action? Randhawa had said that if the Congress too failed to provide justice, they should also face the same fate as the Akalis. If your government does not take sacrilege seriously, then you should also prepare to lose,” he said.
With families of the deceased and Ajit Singh at Behbal Kalan Dharna … https://t.co/pKTxj6DHsS
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) December 20, 2021
Behbal Kalan firing case
Between June 1 and October 15, 2015, four major incidents triggered protests by Sikh religious leaders, activists and citizens, initially in the Faridkot district and later across the entire state.
On June 1, 2015, alleged incidents of sacrilege were reported at the gurudwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot.
A few months later, on September 24, 2015, posters bearing derogatory language about the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, were found pasted in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari villages.
Then several torn pages of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn in Bargari village on October 12, 2015, leading to protests in Behbal Kalan village and Kotkapura sub tehsil in Faridkot.
And lastly, the police opened fire in Behbal Kalan village on October 14, 2015, killing two protesters – Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Bhagwan Singh – and injuring six others.
Following state-wide protests, the then SAD-BJP government had in November 2015 handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). An SIT of the Punjab police had also arrested ten persons, all of whom were followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda – led by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh – for the incidents of sacrilege at that time.
Amidst all this, the Congress’s Amarinder Singh formed the government with a thumping majority in 2017, ousting the SAD-BJP government.
Later, Amarinder constituted a five-member SIT headed by inspector general (IG) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh to probe the sacrilege incidents. However, in 2018, the CBI closed the case saying that they could not find any proof against any accused. The CBI submitted a closure report in 2019.
However, on April 9, 2021, the Punjab and Haryana high court directed the Congress government to form a new SIT without Pratap Singh. The IG resigned on April 14.
In March, a new SIT was formed under the supervision of IG (Border Range) Amritsar S.P.S. Parmar, whose probe is underway.
Also read: Punjab: Will BJP’s Plan to Induct Sikh Leaders Negate the Impact of Farmers’ Protest?
Sikh leaders and activists speak up
HSGPC president Baljit Singh categorically blamed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh for the sacrilege incidents of 2015. He also went to meet the families on December 18 at the Behbal Kalan protest site.
He said that in 2018, the six-month-long ‘Bargari Insaaf Morcha’ was called off after the then cabinet ministers, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, in the Amarinder government assured the protesters that their demand will be met.
Baljit Singh said that in another 20 days or so, the code of conduct will come into force in Punjab before the elections. “What has the Punjab government done on the crucial issue of sacrilege? When Ram Rahim Singh’s name has clearly figured in the SIT probe, why don’t the Punjab police bring him on production warrant and conduct the investigation?” he asked.
“Ram Rahim and his supporters’ names are directly linked to the sacrilege cases but the Channi government has failed to act. While the Badals saved Ram Rahim, ex-chief minister Amarinder saved the Badals and ended up losing the chief minister’s post. If Channi also fails to act, he too will lose miserably. We need to protest. Until pressure is not built, we will not get justice,” he said.
Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh, who relaunched the dharna on December 16, said, “It is because of the total failure of the Indian justice system and the insincerity and inability of the Punjab government in delivering justice in the Bargari and Behbal Kalan incidents, that the victim’s son Sukhraj Singh resolved to go for an indefinite sit-in.”