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Bangla Sahib Row Revives Questions Over Punjab Police Operation
Two controversies about police and Sikh religious places are being discussed together.
In Delhi, videos showed police officers wearing shoes in a passage at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.
Delhi Police said the passage was used by devotees on their way to the place where shoes are removed.
A gurdwara committee leader said the officers did not enter the Darbar Hall, but objected to police entering the complex.
The debate also brought attention back to a 2023 police operation at Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib in Punjab.
A Sikh religious committee later alleged that police used too much force and disrupted religious proceedings.
Those claims were not court findings, and the article says it is unclear whether officials answered the committee's 23 questions or what final action followed.
The two events are different, but both have raised calls for clear explanations.
An October 10 dispute over Delhi Police personnel wearing shoes in a passage at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib renewed scrutiny of a 2023 Punjab Police operation.
The operation at Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi occurred on November 23, 2023, during a dispute between two Nihang factions and left a Home Guard constable dead and police personnel injured.
A January 2024 SGPC inquiry alleged police fired more than 1,000 rounds, used tear gas, entered the premises wearing shoes, and disrupted religious proceedings; these were inquiry allegations, not judicial findings.
The SGPC said Kapurthala's Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police did not answer 23 written questions, and its findings blamed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also held the Home portfolio.
Delhi Police said officers used a common passage before the footwear-removal point; DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka acknowledged they did not enter the Darbar Hall and filed a complaint against Arvind Kejriwal and associates over allegedly misleading videos.
- Who
- Delhi Police, AAP leaders, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Punjab Police, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
- What
- A dispute over police presence at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib has renewed scrutiny of SGPC allegations about a 2023 Punjab Police operation at Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib.
- Where
- Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi and Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala district, Punjab.
- When
- The Punjab operation took place on November 23, 2023; the SGPC released its findings on January 8, 2024; the Bangla Sahib controversy erupted on October 10.
- Why
- The incidents prompted questions about police conduct at Sikh religious institutions and whether allegations and inquiry questions received a transparent, consistent response.
Critics and complainants
Authorities' responses
Police presence at Bangla Sahib
Critics and complainants
AAP leaders alleged Delhi Police violated Sikh religious traditions by entering the shrine wearing shoes; Harmeet Singh Kalka said uniformed police should not have entered the premises.
Authorities' responses
Delhi Police said officers used a common passage on the route to the footwear-removal point, while Kalka acknowledged they did not enter the Darbar Hall.
Punjab operation at Akal Bunga Sahib
Critics and complainants
The SGPC inquiry alleged excessive firing, tear gas use, disruption of religious proceedings, and entry by police wearing shoes; it attributed responsibility to Bhagwant Mann and said district officials did not answer 23 questions.
Authorities' responses
Punjab Police alleged that members of a Nihang faction opened fire. The article notes the SGPC claims were not judicial findings and does not establish the final government response or disciplinary outcome.
Videos and protest conduct
Critics and complainants
The DSGMC objected to protesters allegedly carrying political placards and raising slogans inside the religious premises.
Authorities' responses
Delhi Police accused those circulating the video of malicious intent, and Kalka filed a complaint alleging misleading videos were circulated to damage the gurdwara's reputation.
Key facts
- Punjab operation date
- November 23, 2023
- Location
- Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala district
- Reported fatality
- A Home Guard constable was killed; police personnel were injured.
- SGPC findings released
- January 8, 2024
- SGPC allegation
- Police fired more than 1,000 rounds and used tear gas.
- Questions to officials
- The SGPC said the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police received 23 written questions and did not answer them.
- Delhi Police account
- Officers were walking in a common passage used by devotees before reaching the footwear-removal point.
- Status of findings
- The SGPC inquiry findings were not judicial conclusions; the article says the final status of the questions and any disciplinary findings was not established.
Quotes
Harjinder Singh Dhami
SGPC president who presented the inquiry findings.
“It is clear from the statements recorded by the probe panel and the video documents found that the police fired more than a thousand bullets.”
thestatesman.com
“The police action looked pre-planned before Prakash Gurpurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev.”
thestatesman.com
Delhi Police
Police force responding to allegations about personnel at Bangla Sahib.
“The process is the same for all devotees coming to Gurdwara.”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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