Youth beaten to death after alleged sacrilege bid at Golden Temple
The man in his early 20's was nabbed when he climbed the gold railing around the sanctum sanctorum where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed and picked up the Siri Sahib (sword) when the evening prayer was being recited.
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| A 20 year old youth jumping over the railings around the santum sanctorum in the Golden Temple |
A youth was beaten to death Saturday at the Golden Temple in Amritsar after being accused of a sacrilege attempt.
The man in his 20s, not yet identified, was caught by staff of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee and devotees at the Darbar Sahib.
His body was later placed outside the main gate of the SGPC headquarter
The incident took place at 5.50 pm and was captured on camera because the Rehraas Sahib is telecast live by a private channel. Later, the SGPC released CCTV footage of the incident.
According to sources, the youth was first questioned in a room inside the Golden Temple premises, and then taken on a wheel chair to the SGPC headquarters. All this while, he was being beaten. Meanwhile, police also reached the spot.
Sources said police officers and SGPC staff questioned the youth but he did not reveal any about himself. He was not carrying any identity card, sources said.
Meanwhile, some Sikh activists and devotees sat on a dharna, demanding custody of the youth. The SGPC later placed his body outside its headquarters.
It was the second sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple within four days. A person threw a gutka (a book containing verses from the Gurbani) into the sarovar (holy tank) of the Golden Temple Wednesday.
SGPC sewadars apprehended the man and handed him over to police. He was identified as Ranbir Singh. Following this, SGPC chief Dhami said: “This is not a stray incident. It is a conspiracy hatched to provoke the sentiments of Sikhs and vitiate the atmosphere of Punjab.”
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, in a statement, said: “History tells us that the Sikhs never tolerated any kind of attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib, even when powerful foreign invaders did so. They always gave them a befitting reply. There are some agencies which are behind these incidents in the season of elections.”
“If any such incident happens anywhere and the sangat punishes the culprit on its own, the government or the culprit will be responsible for it. The government must expose the forces behind these conspiracies because Sikhs will not tolerate these acts anymore,” he said.
Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma condemned the Golden Temple incident and slammed the Congress government over its alleged failure to act in cases of sacrilege. He called for a probe into the Saturday incident.
In a video address, Shiromani Akali Dal patron and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said: “It’s unbelievable that such a painful and brazen crime is committed at ‘the holiest shrine of humanity’ by a single individual. The possibility of deep-rooted conspiracy cannot be ruled out. This needs to be probed.”