PATTI, Punjab— Last week, at 4:30 am on March 27, in village Talwandi Mohar Singh near Patti, a saroop of Guru Granth Sahib Ji was found partially burned. The incident took place in Gurdwara Baba Jivan Singh, located in a village under the jurisdiction of Rural Police Station of Tarn Taran. Just four months ago, in November of 2015, in the village of Kot Budha near Patti, another saroop of Guru Granth Sahib had been found desecrated.
The Granthi Singh of the Gurdwara Sahib told Sikh24 that when he was preparing ‘Karah Prasad’, the electric wires within the Gurdwara Sahib short-circuited and caught fire due to a voltage fluctuation of the transformer. Due to this short circuit, the cloth covering the Guru Granth Sahib Ji caught fire. As soon as the appointed Granthi saw the fire, he managed to control it, but by then Guru Granth Sahib Ji was already partially burned.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devinder Singh Sandhu and Station House Officer Bikram Singh said they immediately rushed to the location of the incident. SHO Bikram Singh said that a report has been registered in the police station and that the police were further investigating the incident. He added that the damaged parts of the saroop have been sent for cremation at Sri Goindwal Sahib.
Harminder Singh Gill, former president of the All India Sikh Student Federation, stated that the fire needs to be investigated. He said that after speaking with local sevadars and sangat, it appears that the circumstances were mysterious. “I visited Gurdwara site and talked to different people,” he said. “I fail to understand that why in Punjab only [the] game of desecration is going on?”
Satkar Committee Chief, Bhai Balbir Singh Mucchal, said, “SGPC is making hefty profit from Gurdwaras but not providing any kind of safety for Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Aside from press statements, SGPC has not done [anything] to safeguard saroops of Guru Sahib, despite such incidents happening on regular basis.” He said that the SGPC should look into rewiring all Gurdwaras and making sure short circuits do not take place in the future.