Pages of holy scriptures found in garbage trolley

After the ‘Gutka Sahib’ and several pages of other religious scriptures were found from a garbage collection trolley in the posh Ranjit Avenue area here on Monday, the police have launched a probe and initiated the process to register an FIR in this regard.

The incident has angered Sikh organisations which have demanded stringent action against the offenders who threw the scriptures into the garbage dump.

Robin Hans, SHO, Ranjit Avenue police station, said that a case is being registered while further investigations are on.

The incident came to light when the driver of the garbage collection trolley found the Gutka Sahib in the rubbish. They tried to hand it over to a Gurdwara. The All India Satkar Committee termed it as a ‘sacrilege’ attempt while adding that the incident had hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community.

They also warned that a statewide agitation would be launched if the police failed to identify the suspects who had thrown the scriptures in the garbage.

Paras Singh of All India Sikh Satkar Committee said that the garbage collector handed over the Sikh scriptures to a Gurdwara in Ranjit Avenue B Block here.

However, the Gurdwara authorities said that they had not given the ‘Pothis’ and Gutka Sahib to the Gurdwara but to some devotees who had come to the shrine to pay obeisance.

“Police should identify the accused who had thrown Gutka Sahib and pages of other scriptures in the litter. Also, who had taken these from the garbage collectors? It was a deliberate attempt to create tension in society. The accused should not be spared and action should be taken as per law,” they said.

Mandeep Singh, another activist, said that there were eight Gutka Sahibs and some pothis which were thrown into garbage and covered with papers and cloths.

Robin Hans said that investigations are going on and the accused would be identified and arrested soon.

Amritsar