Chandigarh: Two days after a man accused of committing sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib was killed in jail by two Sikh inmates, his fellow Dera Sacha Sauda members finally agreed to cremate his body after the promise of speedy justice.
The murder of Mohinderpal Bittu in Nabha jail had caused communal tensions to build in Punjab, especially since his fellow Dera followers had refused to cremate his body if the state administration did not fulfil certain demands.
Bittu, 49, was killed by two Sikh inmates at the high security prison at Nabha in Patiala district. He was jailed in June 2018 for masterminding the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari in June 2015.
Dera followers had been demanding that the police drop all charges against him and the other Dera men lodged in jails for the sacrilege incidents of 2015.
“The body has been cremated. We have promised the family of the victim that justice will be done at the earliest,” said Raj Bachan Singh Sadhu, the SSP of Faridkot district.
CM sets up SIT
The murder, a grim reminder of the decade-old animosity between Dera followers and Sikhs in the state, led the police to tighten security across Punjab.
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered a fact-finding probe into the killing, promising action. He also ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate Bittu’s murder, after a meeting with high-level meeting of top police and administrative officials in Chandigarh Monday.
Fearing a communal flare-up, the CM had also appealed everyone to maintain peace and not give in to “rumours”.
The CM tasked senior IPS officer Rohit Chaudhry to report within three days on what led to Bittu’s killing in jail.
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Tense situation
The situation is far from returning to normal even 48 hours after Saturday’s incident. After Bittu’s body was brought to his native town of Kotkapura, a large number of Dera followers gathered, refusing to cremate the body. The followers were demanding a judicial probe into the incident, and the dropping of all charges against Bittu, whom they alleged was “wrongly” framed in the desecration incident.
“The two men who killed Bittu have been identified but the killing is part of a larger conspiracy which was planned outside the jail. We want a probe into that,” said Chhinderpal, chairman of the 45-member state committee of the Dera.
“Second, we want that all charges against Bittu be dropped. He was made the scapegoat while the real culprits were others. Also, the other Dera men who are in jail for the desecration should also be cleared of charges against them.”
With the Dera followers digging their heels in, at least three units of paramilitary forces were deployed in Kotkapura, where Bittu’s body was being kept in a naam charcha ghar (congregation places of the Dera).
M.S. Chhina, inspector general of the Ferozepur Range, was camping in Kotkapura, along with the deputy commissioner and the SSP of Faridkot district to resolve the situation.
The Bargari sacrilege
In June 2015, the ‘bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book of the Sikhs considered to be a living Guru) was stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, a village in district Moga. A few months later, torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered in a neighbouring village, Bargari.
An SIT was set up by the Akali Dal-BJP government in the state to probe the desecration. Massive protests by Sikhs followed the desecration. As the police cracked down on the protesters, two Sikhs were killed in police firing.
The Akalis handed over the desecration probe to the CBI, but the inability of the government to bring the culprits to books coupled with the killing of Sikh protesters made the desecration one of the prime issues in the state assembly elections of 2017.
While the CBI drew a naught in the case, the Punjab Police SIT, which was initially handed the probe, cracked the case in June 2018 with Bittu’s arrest, in connection with a March 2011 case of arson and rioting by Dera followers.
Bittu was member of the state committee of the Dera and was arrested from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. He ran a bakery in Kotkapura and was said to be on the run since August 2017, when Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in two rape cases. Bittu was also among the 150 persons booked by the Haryana police for perpetrating violence in Panchkula following the Dera chief’s conviction.
Killed by rods
According to the Nabha jail authorities, Bittu was allegedly attacked by two inmates, Gursewak Singh and Maninder Singh, inside the prison Saturday evening following an altercation. The two inmates used metal rods to injure Bittu, who was rushed to hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa ordered a magisterial probe into the attack while suspending two jail wardens.
The CM has tasked senior IPS officer Rohit Chaudhry to report within three days what led to Bittu’s killing in jail.
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