Day After Golden Temple Sacrilege Attempt, Punjab CM Blames ‘Bad Elements’

A day after the alleged sacrilege attempt inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Sunday urged people to maintain communal harmony and respect and protect all religious centres in the state.

Channi paid a visit to the Golden Temple to take stock of the situation. He was accompanied by Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Speaking to reporters, Channi said some “bad elements” could be behind Saturday’s incident ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab next year. “Our agencies are conducting a probe,” the chief minister added.

The Punjab government has formed a special investigation (SIT) to probe the sacrilege attempt. The SIT will be led by Amritsar’s deputy commissioner of police (law and order) and the report on the incident will be submitted in two days.

The police have already registered an FIR under sections 295A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against an unknown accused of the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings and attempt to murder.

Earlier on Sunday, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Sanjeev Kumar said security arrangements were made at the Golden Temple and the situation was peaceful.

“After yesterday’s incident, we have made security arrangements here (at Golden Temple). Many Sangats come on weekends… Although the situation is peaceful, ACP Kumar told news agency ANI.

On Saturday evening, a 30-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh allegedly stepped inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, picked a sword and reached the area where a priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

The man was beaten to death by a group of angry pilgrims as he was being taken away by members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) task force.