SGPC forms committee to halt auction of Guru's armour plate

Amritsar, Apr 2 (UNI) The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committtee (SGPC) today announced the formation of a six-member panel for halting the proposed auction of tenth Guru Gobind Singh's steel armour plate, scheduled to go under the hammer in London on April 9.

This rare armour plate is being auctioned by London's famed auction house, Sotheby's.

The committee would go to London to halt the auction and also to verify the authenticity of the steel plate, as a number of Sikh historians have claimed that the relic did not belong to Guru Gobind Singh.

The committee comprises of Dr Jasdev Singh Rai, a London-based Sikh, Baba Mohinder Singh of Birmigham, Dr Kharak Singh, a noted historian, Dr Gurnek Singh and Dr Sukhdayal Singh, both of Punjabi University, Patiala and Dr Balwant Singh of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. SGPC secretary Harbeant Singh will be the panel coordinator.

While announcing the formation of the panel, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said here today that they had already appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UK High Commissioner at Delhi to take immediate steps to halt this auction. He also appealed to the Sikh community in the UK to take effective measures to stop the auction as "such relics were part of the Sikh heritage and were not meant to be auctioned".

UNI XC-HS JN MMS2010