Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi on Saturday strongly condemned the 'most unfortunate' and 'heinous' act of attempting sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple in Amritsar during the 'path' of Sri Rehras Sahib.
The Chief Minister directed the police to thoroughly probe the entire matter to zero in at the underlying motive and real conspirators behind the act.
He also called up the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President and assured his government's full support and cooperation to get into the bottom of the matter.
Man beaten to death
A man was allegedly beaten to death after he tried to desecrate the sacred Guru Granth Sahib on Saturday evening.
The youth, reportedly belonging to Uttar Pradesh, entered the restricted area and tried to pick the sword kept in front of the Guru Granth Sahib.
He was caught by security persons and was handed over to the SGPC office, where he was beaten to death.
Videos of the incident show the mob trying to break the gate of the SGPG office and raising slogans. Weapons were also visible in the crowd.
The police have admitted that the man was thrashed to death by the mob. However, the identity of the man is yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed "shock and disbelief at the most heinous outrage of attempting to commit sacrilege at our highest and the holiest shrine, Sachkhand Shri Harmandar Sahib".
In a statement issued here, Badal said it is impossible to believe that this could be the act of just one person.
The former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab said that there seems to be a conspiracy to inflict wounds on Sikh minds and disturb peace and communal harmony in the state.
(With inputs from IANS)
