Amritsar: A 19-year-old youth identified as Bakshish Singh alias Gola was beaten to death by angry devotees over alleged sacrilege outside the premises of Gurdwara Sahib Baba Bir Singh, in village Bandala of district Ferozpur, Punjab. Bakshish allegedly tore the ‘Holy Ang’ of Shri Guru Granth Sahib at the Gurdwara, after which the devotees present at the scene caught him. They dragged him outside where he was brutally beaten before being handed over to the police. Bakshish succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. For those who are unaware, the pages of Shri Guru Granth Sahib are known as ‘Ang’.

Police were informed about the incident but the devotees beat him mercilessly before the police reached the scene. He was handed over to the police in an unconscious state. Police rushed him to the nearest private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Devotees and villagers informed police that Bakshish never visited the particular Gurdwara ever before.

Speaking to the media, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), City Police Station, Sukhvinder Singh said that a young man committed sacrilege at Gurdwara Sahib Baba Bir Singh. Police added that after tearing the pages, Bakshish tried to run away. The devotees present at the Gurdwara held him and beat him to death. In a statement, Bakshish Singh’s father Lakhvinder Singh said he was mentally unstable and was on medication for the past two years. A video of people beating Bakshish Singh went viral on social media platforms.

An FIR under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the deceased has been registered over sacrilege at the Arifke Police Station based on the complaint of chairman of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee’s chairman Lakhvir Singh. However, Bakshish’s father urged the police to file another FIR for the murder of his son.

Following the incident, Shri Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) issued a statement and justified lynching of youth over allegations of sacrilege. In the statement, SGPC said, “Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Giani Raghbir Singh termed the death of the accused of sacrilege as a reaction to the ‘failure to punish the culprits and give exemplary punishments by law’. Moreover, the Jathedar has also ordered the Sikh Sangat to socially and religiously boycott the family of the accused of sacrilege and not to allow the last rites of the accused to be held in any Gurdwara Sahib.”

The complete statement by SGPC read, “Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Giani Raghbir Singh today expressed deep grief over the incident of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Gurdwara Baba Bir Singh in Bandala village in Ferozepur district and termed the death of the accused of sacrilege as a reaction to the ‘failure to punish the culprits and give exemplary punishments by law’. Moreover, the Jathedar has also ordered the Sikh Sangat to socially and religiously boycott the family of the accused of sacrilege and not to allow the last rites of the accused to be held in any Gurdwara Sahib. Today in a statement issued from the Secretariat, Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said that for a long time, incidents of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji have been taking place under a well-planned conspiracy. He said that the government’s law is neither proving successful in stopping the incidents of sacrilege nor in punishing the culprits. He said that today’s incident of sacrilege at Gurdwara Baba Bir Singh in Bandala village of Ferozepur district is a very unfortunate incident in this series which has hurt the sentiments of Sikhs. He said that for Sikhs there is nothing above Sri Guru Granth Sahib and incidents of sacrilege badly harm the soul and mentality of Sikhs. The Jathedar said that when the rule of law fails miserably in performing its duty, then people are forced to seek justice in their own way. He also warned the government that instead of troubling the Sangat or any Sikh regarding the death of the accused of sacrilege, the truth should be brought before the Sangat as soon as possible as to who sent the accused of sacrilege and under what conspiracy.”

Multiple cases of murders over alleged sacrilege in Punjab

This is not the first time there has been a case of murder over alleged sacrilege in Punjab. In January this year, Nihang Sikh killed a young man at a gurudwara in Phagwara, Punjab, on suspicion of sacrilege. The accused identified as Ramandeep Singh Mangu Math, posted the footage of the youth before murdering him and claimed responsibility for the murder.

In 2023, protests erupted after a man allegedly attacked two ‘granthis’ (Sikh priests) and desecrated the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ at a gurudwara in Morinda. In another incident, a Punjab home guards constable was killed, and five policemen were injured in a clash with Nihang Sikhs in Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi.

These incidents reflect the rising tension and violence over alleged sacrilege incidents in Punjab.

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