:dateline:In the aftermath of the�beadbi incidents of March 11 at Ramdiwali Musalmana (near Sri Amritsar), the debate continues over who to hold responsible and how to punish them. �Former MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki told Sikh24 earlier today�that he held Sukhbir Badal responsible for the recent desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. �Ramanjit Singh Sikki was an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) from Khadoor Sahib Constituency and had resigned from his post in protest of the desecration incidents that had occurred in mid-October last year.
SGPC�appointed Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib, Giani Gurbachan Singh,�on the other hand claimed the incidents were part of a conspiracy to spread discord�across Punjab. �Earlier today,�he�asked the Punjab government to take strict action against those responsible for the recent beadbi incidents. He said that Sikh Panth would not refrain from punishing the desecration culprits in accordance with�Sikh traditions if the Punjab government failed in appropriately�punishing them.
Many Sikh leaders and panthik members are advocating for harsh punishments for those responsible, and some are taking matters�into their own hands. On March 14, a group of Nihang Singhs from Baba Bakala holding swords attacked those responsible for the beadbi incidents while they were being escorted by police. �The culprits had been caught via CCTV camera footage. This has prompted�Giani Gurbachan Singh to say�that Gurdwara�management committees should install CCTV cameras in all gurdwaras and provide housing to�Granthi Singhs inside gurdwaras as part of strict security measures.�
Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia recently�called for�stricter punishment as well by saying that�those responsible for the beadbi should be charged with murder. �Giani Gurbachan Singh said he supported this and added that all the MLAs of Punjab should be proponents of harsh punishments for such crimes.
He�said that it was necessary�to amend�Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code so that those responsible for the desecration would be punished appropriately. Section 295 states that crime of�destruction of places of worship or sacred object, “shall be punishable with imprisonment…for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki however, said he was�more concerned�with preventative measures to such crimes, rather than punishments in their aftermath. He said that the tragedy would not have had occurred if Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal would have taken action earlier. �”No one was arrested earlier, despite dozens of beadbi incidents across Punjab. �This allowed beadbi to continue,” he told Sikh24.
Sikki said that Akali leaders don’t have any respect for Sri Guru Granth Sahib and can cross any�limits to maintain their posts.�He was referencing the�Akali leadership’s failure in catching�the perpetrators�of the Bargari incident and in delivering justice to the victims of Behbal Klan tragedy.�
Sikki added that the Akali leaders have lost credibility and that they will�be ousted from Punjab in the upcoming assembly elections of 2017. He said that if�Congress should win the assembly elections of 2017, those responsible for the desecration would be found and punished accordingly.
In 2016, series of beadbi incidents shocked Sikh sangat worldwide. �Several such incidents took place in which saroops of Guru Granth Sahib ji were desecrated by miscreants. �Few persons were arrested to calm down Sikh sentiments, however, later such arrests proved to be fabricated by the police as the culprits were either arrested without evidence, or just roughed up to break growing protests against the Government. �These incidents led Sikhs to hold statewide protests, eventually leading some Sikh organizations to give a call for Sarbat Khalsa.
