Jalandhar, Jan 21: A 16-year-old boy has been taken into custody by the Phillaur police following the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Gurdwara Shri Guru Nanak Darbar in Mahal village, Goraya.
According to reports, the incident involved the tearing of six “angs” (pages) of the holy scripture, which were discovered scattered both within the gurdwara premises and outside the building on Tuesday evening.
The discovery was made around 6 pm, barely an hour after local residents had visited the shrine at 5 pm and reported everything to be in order.
As news of the torn “angs” spread, members of various Sikh organizations gathered at the site to voice their protest against the sacrilege.
While the internal surveillance system of the gurdwara was reportedly non-functional at the time of the incident, investigators managed to identify the suspect through independent footage sourced from cameras located nearby.
The minor, a Class X student and resident of the same village, was allegedly seen on camera dropping the angs outside the gurdwara.
Authorities are currently looking into whether the act is linked to a pre-existing conflict between two local factions competing for control of the gurdwara management.
“Three angs of Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered at the gurdwara,” DSP Phillaur Bharat Masih noted.
“As per CCTV footage retrieved from outside the gurdwara, a 16-year-old boy was found dropping pages of the Guru Granth Sahib outside the gurdwara premises. A detailed investigation is on to ascertain the cause of his actions. A dispute regarding heading the gurdwara management was also under way at the village. All these aspects are under investigation.”
