On run for 6 years, key accused in 2015 sacrilege incidents in Punjab, lands in police net

Pardeep Kler, one of the three absconding Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda national committee members, who as per the special investigation team (SIT) was the key conspirator in five sacrilege cases in 2015 was arrested by a team of crime investigation agency (CIA) of Faridkot police from Gurugram on Friday.

The development was confirmed by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the Bargari sacrilege cases.

An official privy to the development, who didn’t wish to be named, said that Kler, who was on the run for six years, was arrested from Gurugram and cops have secured his transit remand.

“Faridkot police have presented Kler in the local court and secured his transit remand. We have confirmed his identity, the person arrested by Faridkot police is Pardeep Kler, who is accused in sacrilege cases. CIA team is bringing him to Faridkot, where he will be presented in the local court on Saturday,” the official added.

A team of Faridkot police was rushed to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh earlier this week after Kler was purportedly seen serving ‘langar’ to devotees during the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in the pictures on social media account.

Punjab Police had issued a look-out circular (LOC) against Kler in three interlinked sacrilege cases of Faridkot, including Bargari in which dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been named as the main conspirator, in November 2021. He was declared a proclaimed offender in sacrilege cases by the courts.

ADGP Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, who heads the special investigation teams (SIT), said: “We have got the confirmation of Kler’s arrest. Following procedures, he will be brought to Faridkot on transit remand and will be presented in a local court. We will interrogate him and track down the two other absconding dera national committee members. In due course, a supplementary chargesheet will be filed in the Faridkot court, which will commit it to the Chandigarh court where the trial is on,” he said.

In February last year, the Supreme Court had transferred the trial against dera head Ram Rahim and seven followers in three interlinked cases of Bargari sacrilege from a court in Faridkot to Chandigarh. The trial has now begun in a Chandigarh court.

According to the SIT probe, the three members of dera’s national committee, Sandeep Bareta, a resident of Bareta in Mansa district, Pardeep Kler of Panipat in Haryana and Harsh Dhuri of Dhuri in Sangrur district are the key links in Punjab’s five sacrilege incidents that sparked off state-wide protests in 2015. Bareta has been declared a proclaimed offender in the cases.

Direct link with dera chief

The SIT claims to have found that the instructions to execute the sacrilege at Bargari, Moga and Gurusar were given by Bareta, Kler and Dhuri, to the district dera committee members. “In the Bargari sacrilege cases, the instructions to steal a ‘bir’ and then commit sacrilege came through the three. The trio had met dera follower Mohinder Pal Bittu and instructed him to steal and commit sacrilege,” ADGP Parmar said.

The SIT found that the conspiracy of desecration of Sikh scriptures was hatched at the administrative block of Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa and that the followers never acted without the permission of the sect head. The SIT has filed chargesheets against Ram Rahim in the three cases, naming him the main conspirator.

An official familiar with the investigation said that the three dera national committee members were the missing link in the sacrilege cases. “The accused who had committed the sacrilege never got instructions from Ram Rahim as they were given by the trio. Kler’s arrest is crucial as it will complete the chain of command and establish direct evidence against Ram Rahim,” he said.

The sacrilege incidents started on June 1, 2015, when the ‘bir’ was stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village gurdwara. Later three derogatory posters threatening sacrilege were pasted at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages on September 24 and 25, 2015. On October 12, 2015, torn pages of the ‘bir’ were found scattered in front of a gurdwara in the adjoining Bargari village, resulting in an outrage across the state.

The trio, including Bareta, was named as accused in the Malke (Moga) and Gurusar (Bathinda) cases. Torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found at Malke village in Moga district in November 2015 and Gurusar (Bhagta) village in Bathinda district in October 2015.

In 2021, three dera followers were convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment in the Malke sacrilege case.