In an incident that rocked the poll-bound state of Punjab, a man was beaten to death by a crowd of pilgrims at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday evening after he allegedly tried
to commit sacrilege. The man jumped across the metal grill to enter the central enclosure of the sanctum sanctorum, picked up a diamond-encrusted sword to desecrate Guru Granth Sahib.
This comes six years after sacrilege and subsequent police firing at Behbal Kalan in Faridkot district, where two anti-sacrilege protesters were killed in 2015. It was a major factor
in the SAD-BJP alliance's humiliating defeat in the 2017 Punjab elections.
Not only this, but the sacrilege case has remained a boiling pot in the state, influencing politics and polls. The 2015 Guru Granth Sahib desecration case has remained a hot topic in
Punjab, with people demanding the government to bring culprits to justice.
With state elections approaching, the latest sacrilege incident has once again enraged entire Punjab.
What exactly happened in Golden Temple?
On Saturday (December 18), when the Golden Temple granthi (priest) Giani Baljit Singh was reciting evening hymns, a young man dressed in a brown suit moved towards the scripture, jumped
over the metal railing around it, trampled on a rumala (the decorative cloth on which the holy book is placed), and picked up a sword before being overpowered by SGPC staff.
The accused was then taken to Teja Singh Samundri Hall, where the SGPC headquarters are located. "While the employees were taking him to the office, some of the other devotees present
at the shrine beat him up so badly that he died before reaching the office," said Parminder Singh Bhandal, deputy commissioner of police (law and order).
As the man’s actions were also telecast on live television during the broadcast of evening prayers at the shrine, thus the word spread fast.
According to CCTV footage, the man who looked in his early 20s had arrived alone. The body was sent to a civil hospital, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted today. The
man is yet to be identified, however, according to some media reports, he is said to be from Uttar Pradesh.
The incident has triggered anguish and outrage in Sikh minds across the world, with Punjab leaders condemning the desecration of the holy scripture.
Earlier, a man threw 'gutka sahib' in Sarovar
Just four days ago, on December 15 a young man was arrested for allegedly throwing a 'gutka sahib' (small Sikh holy book) into the Golden Temple Sarovar.
The man identified as Ranbir Singh was nabbed on the spot by SGPC officials and afterwards turned over to the police.
Political reaction
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday strongly condemned the 'most unfortunate' and 'heinous' act of attempting sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the
sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple in Amritsar.
"CM Charanjit Channi strongly condemned the most unfortunate and heinous act to attempt sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Harimandir Sahib during
the path of Sri Rehras Sahib. CM directed state police authorities to thoroughly probe into the entire matter to zero in at the underlying motive and real conspirators behind this dastardly act. CM also called up SGPC President and assured his government’s full support and cooperation to get into the bottom of the case," read a thread of tweets by CMO Punjab.
Parkash Singh Badal: "The heinous attempt to commit sacrilege at Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib, is deeply shocking & exceedingly painful! The crime is too reprehensible for
words & it has caused 'deep anguish and outrage in minds of Sikh masses all over the world."
Capt Amarinder Singh: "Strongly condemn the horrific incident of attempted sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Darbar Sahib. Govt must get to the bottom of what led this man to act in such a despicable manner!"
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who is hopeful of winning upcoming elections alleged that “this could be a big conspiracy.”
"This is an attempt by forces that are either anti-national, anti-Punjab, anti-Sikhs, or working for political interests to vitiate the atmosphere in Punjab,” said officials.
2015 Guru Granth Sahib desecration
In 2015 a series of desecration incidents of the Sikh Guru Guru Granth Sahib occurred after which several protests were staged leading to police firing and killing of two demonstrators.
Three incidents remain in the spotlight.
1) On June 1, 2015, a Saroop (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikhs' holiest scripture, was stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district.
2) On September 25, 2015, two derogatory posters targeting Sikhs and two Sikh preachers were spotted pasted in a samadh near the same Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village. "These posters
indicated displeasure with the non-release of the film 'Messenger of God,' in which the Dera Sacha Sauda chief starred as a hero. The posters threatened to toss the Holy Guru Granth Sahib into the streets," according
to the commission's investigation report.
3) In the third and the most highlighted case, torn pages (angs) of Guru Granth Sahib, revered as living Guru by the Sikhs, were found scattered in front of the Bargari village gurdwara
and on a nearby street on October 12.
The protestors sat on a dharna in Kotkapura chowk in the evening after the sacrilege incident at BargariOn October 14, 2015, the standoff between police and protestors at Kotkapura chowk
deteriorated. Police used force to disperse the protestors, and two protestors were killed owning to police firing, allegedly.