Hardeep Singh 

AMRITSAR It’s been three years since a man who was allegedly sent by Indian deep State, made an attempt to commit sacrilege inside sanctum sanctorum of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), the Central Sikh shrine, but the conspiracy behind it is still going unearthed. The Police of India-administered Punjab has not exposed the truth of this incident. 

On December 18 in 2021, a person rushed toward Guru Granth Sahib by jumping upon the railing and picked kirpan placed there, when Granthi was reciting Paath of Rehras Sahib. Before he attacked anyone or Guru Granth Sahib, the present Guru of Sikhs, he was overpowered and caught by the sewadars (volunteers) and devotees. Enraged over his sin, sangat (devotees) punished him on the spot by thrashing him to death. However, even after three years, the Police failed to ascertain his identity, nor unearth the conspiracy behind it.

A day after the incident on December 18, the then deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) under the then Amritsar DCP (law and order) Parminder Singh Bhandal and asked it to complete the probe within two days. 

The SIT went through all CCTV footage of the Golden Temple complex and streets that lead to the shrine, and found that the accused paid several visits to the area before the day of the incident. However, it failed to establish his identity, despite making his picture taken from the CCTV footage public. After no one came up to claim his body, police cremated it. 

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) which manages affairs of Sri Darbar Sahib accused the police of cremating the accused’s body in haste, even as it was crucial evidence in the alleged conspiracy.

To mark the second anniversary of this heinous sacrilege bid in 2023, Ardasya (Sikh priest) of Sri Darbar Sahib accused ‘Intelligence Network’ of being behind the attempt in the ardas (Sikh prayer) held at Akal Takht. On the occasion, Jathedar Akal Takht Giani Raghbir Singh had said, “Two days ago, parliament of India was attacked and the government overnight arrested the accused. Cannot the government nab the perpetrators of the sacrilege incidents? Yes, everything can be done. We can say it incompetence or the governments do not want to do so. The Sikhs have no hope for getting justice in this country. This is being done deliberately”.

This egregious sacrilege attempt deeply wounded the Sikh community. Last year, the Sikhs staged a sit-in outside Darbar Sahib complex for one hour to register their protest against the Government’s alleged “failure” to establish the identity of the perpetrator. They had said the incident was not just an unparalleled act of sacrilege but a blatant attempt to challenge and demean the Sikh community. 

Despite the alarming evidence and the Punjab Police’s access to advanced biometric technologies, the identity of the accused remains a mystery, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the investigation, intelligence and potentially pointing towards a deeper conspiracy.

On the third anniversary of the sacrilege bid, a gathering of Sikh activists is being held at Akal Takht Sahib on December 18, during which ardas will be recited on completion of the incident, besides holding of demonstration for seeking justice in this case.