CHANDIGARH: As gangster Sukha Gill Lamme owned responsibility for the murder of Bathinda-based Dera Sacha Sauda follower Manohar Lal Arora, father of Gurusar village sacrilege accused Jimmy, Punjab jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said it would be difficult for Congress MLAs to face people if the main culprits of the 2015 sacrilege incidents were not put behind bars.
“People have already started asking us why the action is not being taken in the Bargari sacrilege incident. They ask why the state government has failed to arrest main culprits till date. Though we have arrested some accused. The assembly elections are not too far now,” said Randhawa. Asked why the Punjab police SIT had failed to arrest main culprits, the jails minister replied, “The home department is not with me. Only the DGP and the bureau of investigation can tell you better.”
The minister also told TOI that there was a need to register FIR into the case of 328 missing saroops of Guru Granth Sahib from the custody of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to restore public confidence in the system. “SGPC has already named guilty persons. But where are those missing saroops and to whom they have been sold? Only the police can investigate and not the SGPC,” said Randhawa. He added that suspension or dismissal of guilty employees by the SGPC could not be construed as punishment and people were already raising questions.
The cabinet minister said that such incidents of sacrilege have not stopped. “See how brave people have become. Two days back Amritsar police caught two persons at the airport carrying holy saroop in a suitcase. Who is responsible for such acts,” aked Randhawa, emphasising that such incidents need police probe.
Elaborating on the Bargari sacrilege incident of 2015, Randhawa said till date it was not clear whether the CBI or the Punjab police should probe the case further. This issue was still pending in the Mohali special CBI court as well as the Punjab and Haryana high court. “But people do not understand the reason for the pendency of the case in courts. They want concrete action at the earliest. We are public representatives and it is important to satisfy the public,” he added.