Bargari sacrilege: Two years on, case still unsolved despite probe by CBI, 2 panels

Despite the change of regime in Punjab and the probe by a special investigation team (SIT), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and two commissions of inquiry into the Bargari sacrilege incident, the case remains unsolved even after two years.

Sources said the police failed to get any clue or evidence as to who was behind the torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib found at Bargari village in Faridkot district on October 12, 2015 and who stole the Sikh holy book from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village on June 1, 2015.

They said it has also not been confirmed if the torn pages found at Bargari were of the same bir, which was stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala.

In 2015, a SIT was constituted by the previous SAD-BJP government to investigate into the Burj Jawahar Singh Wala incident, the descration at Bargari and the Behbal Kalan police firing on October 14, 2015, wherein two protesters were killed. The state government later transferred these three cases to the CBI, but no breakthrough has been made in any of these cases so far.

In 2016, the SAD-BJP government had constituted the Justice Zora Singh Commission to look into the desecration cases. The panel recorded statements of around 250 people. It recently submitted its report, which has not been made public by the present Congress government.

The Capt Amarinder Singh government had constituted the Justice Ranjit Singh Gill Commission in April this year to probe all cases of sacrilege in the state. The panel is yet to submit its final report.

Justice Gill told HT that the commission has recorded statements of 205 people and will first submit a report on Bargari and Behbal Kalan incidents. The panel will later come up with another report on the remaing incidents of desecration that took place across the state.

VILLAGE RESIDENTS STILL LIVING UNDER FEAR

HT visited Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on Wednesday and interacted with residents of the two villages. They said they are still living under fear even two years after the sacrilege incidents. Villagers alleged that after the murder of a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala in 2016, police tortured several innocent people in the village while no politician came to their rescue.

They felt that leaders of all parties only tried to take politiocal mileage out of these incidents, while the government has failed to arrest the culprits.

Gora Singh, the granthi of Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, claimed that he went through mental trauma following his police interrogation after the incident of theft of the holy book. Ranjit Singh, the then president of the village gurdwara, said, “Now, nobody wants to be the president of the Sikh shrine.”