3 Dera followers get 3-yr jail in first conviction in 2015 sacrilege cases

In the first conviction in the 2015 sacrilege cases in Punjab, a court in Moga district on Thursday sentenced three Dera Sacha Sauda followers to a three-year jail term for desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib.

The court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithi Singh a resident of Baghapurana and Amardeep Singh and Mithu Singh, both residents of Malke village, said special public prosecutor Sukhdev Singh.

He said this was the first conviction in the 2015 sacrilege cases in the state.

Two other persons, Davinder Singh and Satnam Singh have been acquitted for want of evidence, the special public prosecutor said.

Shortly after the Moga court's verdict, Punjab Finance Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Harpal Singh Cheema accused the previous governments in the state of never wanting to ensure that justice is delivered in the sacrilege cases.

But the AAP government is committed to ensuring that justice is delivered in all sacrilege cases, he said.

The Congress hit back at the AAP, saying the entire process that eventually led to the conviction of the accused happened under its rule.

In November 2015, torn pages of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn on the streets of Malke village in the Moga district. The police had then registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 295-A (intended to outrage religious feelings) and 295 (intent to insult the religion).

In October 2018, a special investigation team of the Punjab Police led by then deputy inspector general Ranbir Singh Khatra arrested five Dera Sacha Sauda followers in the case.

Three sacrilege incidents were also reported in the Faridkot district in 2015. These related to the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib and putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters while torn pages of the religious text were found scattered at Bargari.

These incidents had led to protests in Faridkot. In the police firing at protesters in October 2015, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured in Kotkapura.

The matter has been an emotive issue in Punjab and been one of the main poll planks during the state assembly elections in 2017 and 2022.

Welcoming the judgment of the Moga court, Cheema alleged the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal never wanted to deliver justice to the people of Punjab in the sacrilege cases.

"The sacrilege case in Malke village was reported in 2015 when the SAD was in power. The Congress formed the government on the promise of delivering justice in the case.

"However, they did nothing during their rule. It is only the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann which ensured that the accused get punishment," the minister told reporters after the court pronounced its verdict.

The AAP government is committed to delivering justice to Punjabis in all sacrilege cases, he said.

"The Congress and the Akali Dal were in cahoots and have been covering up each other's crimes for decades. But the AAP government broke this nexus and now the accused will get exemplary punishments for their crimes."

AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said this party's government in Punjab has made sure that the persons "guilty" of sacrilege are sentenced to jail.

"The Akalis allowed it to happen. The Congress shielded the guilty. Finally, the AAP government under the leadership of CM Mann made sure that people guilty of sacrilege are sentenced to jail," he tweeted.

However, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring asked what was the AAP claiming credit for when "everything was done during his party's rule".

"While the sacrilege in Malke village happened on November 4, 2015, and an FIR was registered the same day, no arrests were made till the Congress formed government," he said, adding, the arrests were made in October 2018 when the Congress was in power.

"The charges were framed in 2019 and after that, the trial continued and ultimately today the court convicted three culprits and sentenced them to three years in jail," Warring said in a statement.

"It was the sincere hard work of the Congress government that led to the convictions," he added.