CHANDIGARH: Terming the report of one-man Justice Zora Singh Commission of Inquiry — constituted to inquire into the cases of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib last year — as ‘inconclusive’, the Punjab government on Friday constituted a fresh Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh, to investigate all cases of sacrilege in the State.
The Commission, headed by the former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, will conduct an enquiry into the cases of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Gita and Holy Quran Sharif.
The new Commission, set up under Section 11 of the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952, will probe into the alleged incidents during its six months tenure.
It will also enquire into the detailed facts, circumstances and chronology of events to identify the roles played by various persons in the various incidents of sacrilege in Faridkot and other places in the State.
The Commission has also been tasked to enquire into the firing in Kotkapura on October 14, 2015 and Behbalkalan in Faridkot district, in which two persons died, said an official.
As per its terms of reference, the Commission will identify and enquire into the role of the Police officials in incomplete/ inconclusive investigations into the earlier incidents of sacrileges so far.
The notification follows the State government’s conclusion, after taking into careful consideration various factors including the Punjab Advocate General’s advice, that the Justice Zora Singh Commission, set up by the previous government, “has not answered the very substance of the reference i.e. an enquiry into the incident of sacrilege and the role of the police force.”
In his advice, the Advocate General, Punjab had also observed that the Commission did not complete the fundamental limb of the enquiry i.e. the truth of what occurred in such incidents and the factual role of the persons who may have
been involved.
“The findings of the Commission are broad on such aspects and it has not named or identified precisely the role of the persons involved. Also, certain aspects and issues entrusted to it remain unanswered and are not dealt with in depth to enable the Government to reach definitive conclusions,” the Advocate General had concluded.
Noting that there had been further incidents of sacrilege even after the establishment of the Zora Commission, the Punjab government felt that the “matter is of utmost public concern and importance, requiring a proper and comprehensive enquiry.”