SGPC chief seeks action against Dera chief

New Delhi, July 9: In an apparent attempt to neutralise 'adverse impact' of Punjab police's lathicharge' on sikh youths agitating against Dera Sacha Sauda followers near Ferozepur, the Gurdwara Panel chief today met Home Minister Shivraj Patil seeking expediting of CBI probe against the Dera head and mounting of surveillance on his activities.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Avtar Singh called on the Home Minister and pleaded that the probing agency should expedite its already delayed investigation enabling the law of land to penalise the Dera chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh for the offence he had committed.

Yesterday, Sikh activists clashed with Punjab police following their attempt to storm a Dera centre on Hussainiwala border road near Ferozepur which left 30 people injured, including some policemen.

The incident has caused a widespread resentment among the Sikhs at large.

The SGPC is being controlled by the Shiromani Akali Dal and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has virtually been nominating the 'governing body ' of the Committee for past several years.

In a memorandum submitted to Mr Patil, the SGPC chief said, ''Dera Chief had resorted to 'blasphemy by imitating' the Guru Gobind Singh's act of creating "Khalsa" at village Salabatpura in Bathinda district of Punjab which caused a lot of tension in the State.'' The fragile peace prevailing in Punjab and Haryana could get disrupted any time if the Dera chief continued to be adamant on his stand, Mr Avtar Singh said adding that his followers were out to vitiate the environment.

He sought to remind the Home Minister that a near similar situation was created by the then Central government's political calculations allowing the Sikh-Nirankari clashes to happen in 1978 which put Punjab on turmoil for two decades later on.

Now, the SGPC chief said, the Centre should take care that Dera chief be refrained from going ahead with ''anti-Sikh activities'' and the Haryana government be instructed to keep a suveillance on his day-to-day programme from his headquaters in Sirsa.

Besides, Dera Chief should not allowed to use his 'influence' for getting the ongoing CBI investigations against him delayed. The CBI was now probing a rape charge and two murder cases against him, the SGPC chief said.

UNI