GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, October 17
Terming it as an utter failure of rule of law and order, the officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh demanded a thorough probe from an independent agency into the unfortunate incident that led to killing of Dalit Sikh Lakhbir Singh at Singhu border over alleged sacrilege on October 15.
Showing concern about the image of Sikhs globally, he said the incident was an outcome of emotional religious sentiments that had to be dealt with utmost precision and efficiency.
“All the aspects of the incident should be probed and revealed so that the right version of Sikh community could be presented before the world,” he said.
Citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafted by the United Nations which states “a person goes on a violent path only if the rule of law protects his human rights fails”, he emphasised that the failure of the judiciary to bring justice to the sacrilege incidents in the past had led to the unfortunate incidents, like the one occurred at the Singhu border.
He also advised the media to refrain from tarnishing the image of Sikhs by showing incomplete aspects of the incident.
“Sri Guru Granth Sahib is prime for Sikhs. In the background of the Singhu border incident, there had been around 400 incidents of sacrilege in Punjab during the past five years. The law and system machinery could not deliver justice. Mostly, the cases were closed after declaring the culprits to be ‘mentally ill’, while avoiding to unveil the motive and forces behind it. Had there been exemplary punishment for the wrong doers and the real conspirators behind sacrilege incidents, it would have at least healed up the wounds of the Sikh community as consolation?” he said.
He demanded that an independent agency should scrutinise all the aspects of the Singhu incident, its background, the forces behind it and their motive behind it. “Law should take its course, but the truth must prevail. The police of Punjab and Haryana should do their job impartially and refrain from harassing innocent Sikhs. There could be a motive to hurt the communal harmony of the state by creating problems on religious and caste lines,” he said.
Meanwhile, echoing identical views, the SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur said the attempts were being made to defame the Sikhs and scuttle the farmers’ agitation against the contentious agri laws.
Akal Takht Jathedar demands fair independent probe into Singhu incident
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