The Punjab government has officially sanctioned the prosecution of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with the 2015 sacrilege incidents that sparked widespread protests and resulted in the deaths of 2 demonstrators during police firing.
This decision follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial of three sacrilege cases.
On October 18, the Supreme Court responded to a plea from the Punjab government, challenging the High Court’s earlier decision to halt the trials in Faridkot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also oversees the Home portfolio, approved the prosecution sanction on Monday evening.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for the rape of 2 of his disciples, a conviction handed down in 2017. In 2019, he and three others were also found guilty of murdering a journalist over 16 years ago.
Singh, who is incarcerated in Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district, was recently granted a 20-day parole on October 2.
The sacrilege incidents involved the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, the display of sacrilegious posters in Bargari, and torn pages of the holy book found scattered in the same area.
These events led to significant anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot, resulting in police violence that killed two individuals in Behbal Kalan and left several others injured in Kotkapura.
In 2022, a Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General of Police SPS Parmar, identified Singh as one of the main conspirators in the sacrilege incidents.
Under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code, the state government’s sanction is essential for prosecuting individuals for hurting religious sentiments.
Earlier this year, the High Court had stayed the trial against Singh, questioning the validity of a September 6, 2018, notification from the Punjab government that withdrew consent for the CBI to investigate these cases. Initially, in 2015, the then SAD-BJP government had entrusted the CBI with the investigation.
However, the subsequent Congress-led Punjab government transferred the probe to a special investigation team of the Punjab Police in September 2018 due to perceived delays in the CBI’s progress.
During the recent monsoon session of the Punjab Assembly, CM Mann reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring exemplary punishment for those responsible for the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Meanwhile, the Congress party has criticized the state government for the delays in granting prosecution approval against Singh in the sacrilege cases.
