Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab Media In-charge Baltej Pannu announced that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the controversial events surrounding a woman’s stay at an SGPC-managed sarai in Sri Anandpur Sahib.
Headed by Punjab Police officer Gurbans Singh Bains alongside members Simranjit Singh Lang and Karan Singh Sandhu, the SIT aims to establish how the woman arrived from Bahrain, who facilitated her months-long stay, and who authorized the facilities provided to her.
Pannu stressed that while the SGPC remains a deeply revered Sikh institution, serious questions regarding its executive leadership—specifically SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal—must be transparently addressed.
Pannu highlighted several inconsistencies in the SGPC’s public statements, pointing out that official register records clearly note a room as “Free” and “Recommended by Amarjit Singh Chawla,” contradicting claims that it was officially booked for ₹1,000. He also questioned a ₹1 lakh financial grant disbursed from the Dharam Arath Committee for her treatment, asking why the cheque was encashed in Amritsar instead of Sri Anandpur Sahib and demanding to know how many other individuals received similar assistance under Dhami’s tenure. Furthermore, Pannu criticized the SGPC’s sudden demand for a CBI probe into the matter, recalling that the committee had previously opposed CBI involvement in the 328 missing Saroops case by claiming self-sufficiency in internal inquiries.
