Sikh body says 'people forced to take law into hand' after 'sacrilege' lynching

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Sikh body that administers the Golden Temple in Amritsar, has blamed the government for not taking action against sacrilege cases which "forces people to take law into their own hands".

The SGPC's statement came after a 19-year-old man was beaten to death in Punjab's Ferozepur for allegedly tearing pages of the Guru Granth Sahib at a gurdwara.

In a post on X, the SGPC said, "Where is exemplary justice in large number of sacrilege cases of Sri Guru Granth Sahib or its attempt in Punjab and Haryana? High profile culprits like Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, convicted for rapes and murders, are not being punished in cases of sacrilege even as his name is recorded following recent statement by a co-accused. Is it because ruling political class has to serve its interest of vote bank politics? Governments failure to give justice has forced people to take law into their own hands. The community has always respected the law of the land and Constitution."

On Saturday, Bakshish Singh, 19, was killed by some people after he allegedly tore some pages of the holy book at a gurdwara and tried to flee. His family claimed that he was mentally unstable.

Police registered an FIR against Bakshish under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code at the Arif Ke Police Station on a complaint lodged by Lakhvir Singh, chairman, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee.

Police have also registered an FIR against unidentified persons on the complaint of Bakshish's father.

Reacting to the incident, Giani Raghbir Singh, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, asked the Sikh 'sangat' or community to socially and religiously boycott the family of Bakshish Singh. He also asked not to allow the man's last rites to be held in any gurdwara.

In a post on X, the Jathedar said for a long time, incidents of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib have been taking place under a "well-planned conspiracy".

"Today, the incident of desecration at Gurudwara Baba Bir Singh in Bandala village of Ferozepur district is an extremely unfortunate incident that has broken the hearts of Sikhs in this regard. For Sikhs there is nothing above Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and incidents of blasphemy seriously injure the spirit and psyche of Sikhs. When the rule of law fails miserably in its duty, then people are forced to seek justice in their own way," he said.