Nod to prosecute Ram Rahim in Bargari sacrilege case soon: Punjab CM

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said his government will grant prosecution sanction for trial against Sirsa dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2015 Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege case.

Mann’s statement, during the third and concluding day of the Vidhan Sabha session, comes amid mounting pressure from the Opposition which has targeted the chief minister, who holds the charge of the home department, for “delaying prosecution nod for almost two years”.

While taking part in discussions, Mann told the House that his government is committed to ensuring exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the sacrilege and a fresh report regarding the matter will be filed soon.

The CM’s assertion came shortly after his party MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh raised the sacrilege incidents issue in the assembly. “The state government has got major clues in the sacrilege incidents and a fresh report has already been sent for legal vetting,” he said.

Slamming the previous governments for adopting a “soft approach” towards the highly emotive issue, Mann said due to this laxity, the criminals who have bruised the psyche of Sikhs by committing such unpardonable crime are still roaming free. He said that it is the bounden duty of his government to ensure that these dreaded criminals get punishment. Every person who has been hand in glove in this crime will be ensured exemplary punishment for this sin, he asserted.

On Monday, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa had said in the House that the government was delaying prosecution sanction against Ram Rahim. Congress MLA Pargat Singh said the state police had already prepared a chargesheet in the case long back but the file has been lying with the chief minister.

The incidents related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of Guru Ganth Sahib in Faridkot in 2015. Some handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book were found scattered at Bargari. These incidents had led to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.

In the police firing at the protesters in October 2015, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.

The case was transferred to a court in Chandigarh last year after the chargesheet was filed in 2022. The government has given prosecution sanction in case of seven accused but that of dera heading was still pending.

Earlier, during the zero hour, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh sought a detailed discussion on the sacrilege matter in the House and urged the speaker to extend the session by one day for holding a debate.