New Delhi: A man was lynched to death after he allegedly attempted to desecrate inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday, news agency PTI reported.
The deceased, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, had jumped off the golden grill inside the sanctum sanctorum during the evening prayers.
He picked up a sword and approached the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib. He was apprehended by the members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee task force.
When the man was being taken to the SGPC office, the angry mob thrashed him badly, which later led to his death.
“Today, a 24–25-year-old man entered the (Golden Temple) where the holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) is kept. He tried to defile her with the sword; was fired by compatible people; died in the brawl,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Parminder Singh Bhandal told news agency ANI.
DCP Bhandal said that the antecedents of the youth are being investigated.
It was being ascertained from all the CCTV cameras that when he entered the Golden Temple and how many people were with him.
Following the incident, a large number of Sikh pilgrims and various Sikh organizations criticized the SGPC for its laxity.
Meanwhile, heavy police force has been deployed around the SGPC premises at Teja Singh Samundari Hall to maintain law and order.
Read also | Omicron cases rise to 143 in India as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala report fresh infections
Punjab CM condemns incident, suspected conspiracy by AAP and SAD
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi condemned the alleged sabotage attempt at Sri Harimandir Sahib and directed the state authorities to conduct a thorough probe into the matter and trace the “real conspirators”.
Punjab CMO CMO tweeted, “CM Charanjit Channi strongly condemns the most unfortunate and heinous act of attempting desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Harimandir Sahib.”
Another tweet from CMO Punjab said, “CM directed the state police officers to thoroughly investigate the entire matter to zero in on the underlying motive behind this dastardly act and the actual conspirators.”
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal also condemned the incident, tweeting: “The sacrilege incident in Sri Darbar Sahib today is very sad. Everyone is in shock. It could be a big conspiracy. The culprits should be punished severely.”
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has expressed grief over the alleged attempt to sabotage the Golden Temple, suspecting a “deep-rooted” reason behind the incident.
In a statement, the SAD president said it was impossible to believe that this could be an act of just one person.
“Clearly there is a deep rooted behind it. The sanctity of Harmandar Sahib has never been the target of such outrage since the Mughals, the Masands and Operation Bluestar. This is beyond belief,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Sukhbir Badal further said that the development has left the entire Sikh population in a state of shock.
According to him, there appears to be a “conspiracy to hurt the minds of Sikhs and disturb peace and communal harmony” in the state.
The opposition leader from Punjab also strongly criticized the state government saying there were strong indications of such a conspiracy.
“On that day itself, there was a shocking incident of gutkha sahib being thrown in the holy lake. Back then, the state agencies could not be oblivious to a deeper conspiracy that led to the shocking sequence of events as of today. But no one has done or taken any step to prevent such heinous crime from happening. What are intelligence agencies doing?” Badal inquired.
The former deputy chief minister insisted that those at the top have a lot to answer for.
(with inputs from agencies)
,