CBI probe in holy book desecration to turn up heat

With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiating speedy probe into the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot district last October, the political atmosphere in poll-bound Punjab is set to be charged up once again.

CBI officials say the agency is working fast to unravel the entire episode.

The agency recently recovered all 112 torn pages of the holy book; it will be sent for forensic examination to ascertain the identity of the miscreants through fingerprints.

“The agency will soon nab the accused,” said a senior CBI officer on condition of anonymity. A team of CBI sleuths have been stationed in Faridkot and they have so far examined more than 100 villagers of Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village and Bargari village of Faridkot district. “CBI investigators may also examine certain village heads in connection with the case,” said the officer. The alleged desecration of the holy book by some unidentified persons had sparked off widespread violence in Faridkot and several other parts of Punjab in October 2015 forcing the state government to cancel the sixth edition of the Kabaddi World Cup as a “mark of grievance’’ over the incidents involving disrespect to the holy book. Two people were also killed in police firing in Behbal Kalan village in Moga district and scores of others were injured in violence across Punjab when protests erupted over the issue.

The Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab, which was facing intense political heat over the incident, recently introduced an amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) seeking to make the penal provisions for sacrilege, more stringent. Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who is hoping to reap rich political harvest in the state, is already trying to score brownie points on the issue. As far as the CBI’s investigation into the case is concerned, the officer said, “We have started our probe on a war footing. We have recovered all the torn pages of the holy book. It will soon be sent for forensic examination.”

However, the officer refused to divulge the spot from where the torn pages were recovered.

In all, the CBI has registered three FIRs for the theft of the holy book, putting up of objectionable posters and tearing off the pages of the sacred scripture. The state police had earlier registered FIRs in Baja Khana police station of the district. The Punjab government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT). They had also made seven arrests, including two brothers from Moga district. However, amid stiff opposition against the police probe by hardliner Sikh bodies and several other organizations, the state handed over the probe to the CBI.