CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today rejected allegations of his governments' failure to resolve the Bargari sacrilege case and said that the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission was still investigating the matter and other such cases.
On October 12, 2015, torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found in Bargari village in Faridkot district.
In the protests that followed, two Sikh men died in police firing in Behbal Kalan village on October 14.
"The commission, set up in April 2017, is probing the Bargari and Behbal Kalan incidents, as well as other cases of sacrilege of the holy Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts," Singh said.
"The commission is currently visiting the sites of the incidents in various districts to collect evidence," he added.
Lashing out at the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and other leaders, Singh said not only was the commission meticulously investigating the cases but his government was cracking down on the culprits involved in incidents of sacrilege, reported after he assumed office.
"It is unfortunate that some panthic (religious) leaders, supported by the AAP were trying to undermine the commissions' and the governments' efforts to provide justice to the victims and punish the culprits," Singh said.
He also lashed out at the previous BJP-SAD government for seeking to scrap the commission instead of cooperating with it.
"It clearly showed that the Akalis, led by the Badals, feared the findings of the commission, which was conducting a painstaking probe into every incident of sacrilege/desecration to get to the bottom of the conspiracy to destabilise the state," he said.
The chief minister pointed out that of the 69 cases of sacrilege registered in the state since March 1, 2017, as many as 57 had already been traced while 12 were under investigation.
Since Bargari happened before his government took over, going back to the incident and tracing it was naturally taking time but the commission was painstakingly engaged in uncovering the plot, he said.
Singh said he will ensure that the guilty are brought to book as soon as the commission completes its probe and submits its report.
The chief minister reiterated his promise not to spare anyone found involved in any conspiracy to disturb the hard-earned peace and harmony of Punjab, which took a major hit at the hands of radical forces.