Punjab: Sikhs protests continue; 3 held for desecration of holy book

Chandigarh, Oct 19: Two 'granthis' and a woman were arrested in connection with cases of desecration of the holy book of the Sikhs in Punjab where activists of various outfits blocked roads and highways at several places to protest the sacrilege.

While a 'granthi' in a gurudwara in Nijjapura village of Amritsar district was arrested for allegedly committing an act of sacrilege, police took into custody a woman working as a sweeper and a granthi in connection with the Ghawaddi village desecration case in Ludhiana district.

Amritsar Senior Superintendent of Police (rural) Jasdeep Singh Saini said police received a call from the priest of a gurudwara at Nijjarpura late last night that three persons forcibly entered the shrine and tore the pages of the holy book.

"The statement of priest appeared false following which he was interrogated by police before other people working in the shrine," he said.

The 30-year-old 'granthi' Jagdeep Singh confessed that he had committed the crime and had tried to mislead the police, Saini said.

"The perpetrator of crime, who himself is the granthi of gurdwara, has been arrested," the SSP said.

In another case, police arrested a woman, identified as Balwinder Kaur (45), and 'granthi' Sikandar Singh (46) in connection with the Ghawaddi desecration case, Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Paramraj Singh Umrangal said.

Sikh outfits, meanwhile, continued to stage dharnas at several places in Punjab against incidents of sacrilege and to press for arrest of police officials involved in firing at Behbal Kalan village in which two persons were killed. Several highways in the state remained blocked for hours together as traffic was diverted, police said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur visited the dharna site near Gurdaspur. In Jalandhar, dharnas were staged at Chiheru bridge on GT road, chowk Maqsoodan and several other places, police said, adding a minor clash between Sikh activists and shopkeepers also took place at Jalandhar.

Peace marches were also taken out at various places, including Faridkot, Moga, Mansa, Tarn Taran, Sangrur and Bathinda in the state by the Sikh activists.

Trucks coming from Srinagar carrying apple to Maharashtra have been stranded near Harike bridge, police said. In Ludhiana, protesters have started dharna at Baba Than Singh chowk, police said.

PTI