Police should have not entered Gurdwara wearing shoes: Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh

AMRITSAR: Jathedar of Sikhs supreme temporal seat Akal Takht Giani Raghbir Singh has censured the law enforcement personnel for allegedly entering the gurdwara wearing shoes and has attributed responsibility for this breach of maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct) to the local administration.



In a statement issued in Amritsar on Saturday, Raghubir Singh expressed deep concern over the impact on the Sikh psyche due to the altercation at Gurdwara Sri Akal Bunga Sahib (Chaoni Nihang Singhs), Sultanpur Lodhi where the preparations for the upcoming birth anniversary celebration of Sikh's firs master, Guru Nanak Dev was going on.

"During the ongoing akhand path, the intrusion of the police into the Chaoni posed a threat to the uninterrupted continuation of the sacred recitations. But the employees of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) ensured the seamless progress of the sacred readings by promptly stepping in” he said.

He also expressed concern over the demise of a security personal during the incident.

However, at the same time, he said that the intervention of police in the internal matter of Nihang organizations was unprofessional and not only it had violated the "maryada" of gurdwara, but also posed a question mark on the intentions of the Punjab government .

He also advised the police and Punjab government to refrain from adopting such an approach in the future that could potentially hurt the sentiments of sangat. “The Sikh organisations should amicably sort out their differences so that external powers didn’t get a reason to intervene in their affairs and gain success in dividing the Sikh power,” he said.

Notably, the Akal Takht jathedar had also directed the SGPC to investigate the incident and present its report in a week's time at Akal Takht secretariat.