CBI to Probe Punjab Incident of Desecration of Sikh Holy Book

Punjab government hands over cases of Punjab holy book sacrilage and following violence in Faridkot to CBI.

People gathered in Bathinda, Punjab to protest against the desecration of the holy book. (Photo: PTI)

Amid escalating tension over incidents of sacrilege, the Punjab Government on Sunday handed over the probe into the Bargari village incident and the death of two persons allegedly in police firing during subsequent protests to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The state government has handed over the probe into the incident of sacrilege at Bargari village and the killing of two persons allegedly in police firing on protesters gathered at Behbal Kalan in Faridkot district to the CBI, a government spokesman said.

The government had earlier set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under ADGP IPS Sahota to probe the matter.

The SIT had concluded that “the accused became soft targets of anti-national forces due to greed and ambition of becoming rich”.

It had arrested two brothers – Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh – of Panjgrain village of Faridkot, in connection with the Bargari village incident, the first in a series of over eight incidents of sacrilege.

In total, police arrested six people in connection with five such incidents in different parts of state. Majority of those arrested were either priests or employees working in Sikh shrines.

Sikhs owing allegiance to various groups, including hard-liners, had been seeking the arrest of “real culprits” as they alleged that the two brothers arrested in the Bargari village case were “falsely implicated” by the police.

Under intense attack over handling of the situation, the government in a sudden move had also shunted out Punjab police chief Sumedh Singh Saini.