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Kaur aide gets 5-day tankha

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Puran Singh today sentenced Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee executive committee member Pritam Singh Bhatia to five days tankha (religious punishment) for his alleged utterances against the Takht following SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur's ex-communication.

Bhatia, considered a close confidant of Bibi Jagir Kaur, today presented himself before the Akal Takht and with folded hands accepted the tankha , announced by the jathedar over the public address system from the balcony of the Takht.

Earlier Bhatia had been directed to appear before the Takht following the submission of his letter of apology to the jathedar last week.

A significant development was the presence of Harmandir Sahib head granthi Giani Mohan Singh amongst the panj payaras (five beloved ones of the gurus) who deliberated on Bhatia's letter of apology before awarding the tankha .

Giani Mohan Singh, a close relative of veteran Akali Dal leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi, had earlier distanced himself from Giani Puran Singh (a panj payara) following the hukamnama (edict) issued by the jathedar in January excommunicating Bibi Jagir Kaur from the Sikh panth for defying his directive on the Nanakshahi calendar.

Besides Giani Puran Singh and Giani Mohan Singh, other panj payaras were Subba Singh, Milkha Singh and Rohsan Singh. All the three were in the panel that had excommunicated Bibi Jagir Kaur.

As per orders of the jathedar, Bhatia would wash utensils in the langar (community kitchen) of the Golden Temple for an hour on each of the five days. Besides, he has also been directed to listen to kirtan at the Harmandir Sahib for an hour and recite the 'Japji sahib' prayer five times on each of the five days beginning today.

After the completion of his 'tankha', Bhatia would again present himself before the Akal Takht on April 2, where Giani Puran Singh would perform ardas for his well being and announce his acceptance back into the Sikh panth.

Bhatia, who had questioned the authenticity of the hukamnama issued against Bibi Jagir Kaur, later told newsmen that he would abide by the jathedar's directive and atone for his sin of having questioned the supremacy of the Takht.

Bhatia also appealed to Bibi Jagir Kaur to apologise to the Takht.

UNI

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