Amritsar, January 8 – The probe panel formed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has directly held the Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Bhagwant Mann responsible for the recent firing by the police and disrespect of Maryada (conduct) at Gurdwara Sri Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi.
The SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami made the report of the probe panel public at the SGPC office here today and said that CM Bhagwant Mann, who holds the portfolio of the Home Department, is the main culprit in the entire case as per the report.
On the occasion of publicizing the investigation report at the Shiromani Committee office here today, Shiromani Committee President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who is also in charge of the Home Department, is the main culprit of the entire case according to the investigation report.
Dhami said that on November 23, 2023, the Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib ordered the SGPC to submit a complete report on the incident of Gurdwara Sri Akal Bunga Sahib at Sultanpur Lodhi, according to which a five-member probe panel had submitted its report.
He said that the probe panel included SGPC junior vice-president Gurbakhsh Singh Khalsa, members Surjit Singh Bhittewad, Kulwant Singh Mannan, Bibi Gurpreet Kaur, Jarnail Singh Dogranwala and additional secretary (coordinator) Gurinder Singh Mathrewal. During its probe, this panel has penned the statements of eyewitnesses, heads of Nihang organizations, media persons, and attendants of Gurdwara Sahib. It has been revealed from the statements that there was no need to fire at Gurdwara Sahib and no warning was given before firing. The police fired only unilaterally, while there were no signs of excess or conflict inside the Gurdwara Sahib. Sri Akhand Path Sahib was going on inside the Gurdwara Sahib, where it was disrupted by firing, tear gas, and police entering the premises with shoes. There was no attempt to resolve the conflict between the two factions amicably.
“The police action looked pre-planned before Prakash Gurpurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev. When there was no point of any kind of conflict from within the Gurdwara Sahib, firing and use of tear gas shells were not justified in any way. It is clear from the statements recorded by the probe panel and the video documents found that the police fired more than a thousand bullets. In this regard, instead of taking action against the accused policemen, cases were registered against the Nihang Singhs”, said Harjinder Singh Dhami.
The SGPC President said that the investigation report makes it clear that the government officials are working under the pressure of the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner and SSP of Kapurthala did not cooperate in the probe. These two officials were sent 23 questions in writing by the probe panel, but they did not feel the need to answer as per the intention of the government. He said that since this probe panel was formed by Akal Takht Sahib, the report was sent to the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib for action. He appealed to Jathedar to take appropriate action on this matter.
On this occasion SGPC members Manjit Singh Bhurakohna, Surjit Singh Bhittewad, Mangwinder Singh Khaparkheri, Dharam Prachar Committee member Ajaib Singh Abhiyasi, SGPC secretary Partap Singh, additional secretary Gurinder Singh Mathrewal, assistant secretary Jaswinder Singh Jassi, Shahbaz Singh, Harbhajan Singh Vakta, manager Bhagwant Singh Dhangera and other officials were present.
