:dateline:Undergoing religious punishment awarded by Akal Takht Sahib for failing to check sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in its publishing house, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) top brass today swept the street leading to supreme Sikh shrine Sri Harmandar Sahib (Darbar Sahib) from Gurdwara Saragarhi Sahib to the main entrance of the shrine here.
The SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal along with Rajinder Singh Mehta who recently resigned as senior vice president on Takht Sahib�s order, junior vice president Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, General secretary Harjinder Singh Dhami and executive committee members�Jagsir Singh Mangeana, Manwinder Singh Khaparkheri, Surjit Singh Kang, Sher Singh Mandwala, Bhupinder Singh Asandh, Bibi Kuldeep Kaur Tohra, Gurpal Singh Gora and Amarjit Singh Bhalaipur�appeared at Gurdwara Sargarhi Sahib and they started sweeping the street with brooms.
While they were doing so, the SGPC staff, assistants and security guard were also seen accompanying them. Even as the street was already clean, they did formality to sweep it in front of cameras. They will do so for two days more.�
Prior to this, bhog (concluding) ceremony held today of Akhand Path Sahib (48-hour long nonstop recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) organized by the SGPC top brass at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib here to feel repentance for the 2016 fire incident in the publishing house. Besides, another Akhand Path Sahib initiated by them at Akal Takht Sahib in wake of this sacrilegious episode of which fire incident is also a part. The SGPC chief-led executive committee is doing so on directives of the Takht Sahib.
On May 19, 2016, the publishing house situated in the building of Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib near Sri Harmandar Sahib to print the holy saroops caught fire. The apex gurdwara body which was then headed by Avtar Singh Makkar has been claiming that 14 saroops were damaged in the incident, but around a month ago the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) made a confidential office note of the SGPC public, which states that total 80 saroops got damaged by the fire and fire control operation.
However, the SGPC never conducted an Akhand Path Sahib to repent this incident which is considered as another big sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, before. Raising questions over not repenting it by the SGPC, the PHRO stated that the gurdwara body actually tried its best to downplay this incident and kept the fact of massive damage secret so as to avert deeper resentment against the then SAD-BJP government which was already facing anger of the Sikh masses due to Bargari sacrilege and 2017 assembly elections were coming closer.
Though the panel constituted by the Akal Takht Sahib to probe the missing saroops� matter failed to establish that the damage was massive, it found that the gurdwara body functionaries committed many wrongs in relation to this unfortunate incident. Not expressing remorse for it was one of them. The probe panel also found widespread misappropriation in the publishing house, that led to as many as 328 saroops going missing, which is another sacrilege.�
Keeping in view of the fire incident and failure in checking the misappropriation in publishing house, the highest Sikh temporal seat on September 18 asked the SGPC top brass to hold two Akhand Paths for repentance, besides sweeping the street.
