Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday questioned the AAP government over whether those responsible for the 2015 sacrilege incidents and the police firing on anti-sacrilege protesters would finally face legal action.
His remarks came after Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria gave assent to the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The bill proposes stricter punishment, including life imprisonment, for acts of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. The bill was unanimously passed by the Punjab Assembly on April 13 and was later sent to the Governor for approval.
“The real question is whether the culprits of the Behbal Kalan and Bargari incidents will be punished. People are still waiting for justice in these cases. If justice is not delivered, then this law has no meaning. After four years, the AAP government has brought this law only to mislead people,” Warring said while responding to a question on the anti-sacrilege legislation.
Warring was addressing the media along with Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. The AAP government had convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on April 13 to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, aiming to introduce stricter punishment for sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks tougher penalties to deter incidents of ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) and to uphold the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Congress MP Randhawa, while thanking the governor for approving the bill, asked whether pending sacrilege cases would also come under the scope of the new law so that victims could receive justice.
The 2015 incident involved the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala. Handwritten sacrilegious posters later appeared in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and torn pages of the holy book were found scattered in Bargari village.
These incidents triggered widespread anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot. During police firing on protesters in October 2015, two people were killed in Behbal Kalan, while several others were injured in Kotkapura.
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