Desecration of church in Tarn Taran: A day after a church was vandalised in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, a three-member special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted by the state police to ensure effective and speedy investigation into the incident. The SIT is headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ferozepur Range. The two members of the SIT are Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tarn Taran and SP, Investigation, Tarn Taran.

An official spokesperson said that the SIT was constituted by Director, Bureau of Investigation (BOI) B Chandra Sekhar on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav. The Chief Minister on Wednesday had directed the DGP to minutely probe into the incident, ‘a handiwork of the forces inimical to the peace, prosperity, and progress of the state.’

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SIT to probe Desecration of church in Tarn Taran

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the SIT will conduct a day-to-day investigation into this case and will ensure that a final report is submitted in the competent court at the earliest. The SIT can also co-opt any other officer/official for assistance in the investigation of the case, he added.

The DGP reiterated that besides maintaining law and order, the Punjab Police is committed to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and communal harmony in the state. He said that police teams are investigating the case from all angles and all the culprits will be arrested soon and strict punitive action against them will be ensured.

According to a statement issued by Father Thomas Poochalil, Parish Priest, Infant Jesus Catholic Church, the incident took place on the campus of Infant Jesus Catholic Church at Thakarpura village in Tarn Taran district. He alleged that some unidentified persons kept the security guards under gun point and vandalised the statues of Mother Mary, Jesus Christ and set on fire the car which was in the campus. In the CCTV footage of the incident, two persons can be seen vandalising the statues.

Desecration of church in Tarn Taran

The incident took place a day after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the alleged efforts being made in Punjab for religious conversions by Christian missionaries. The head priest of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, had said that any forced religious conversion will not be tolerated at any cost.

Singh and Dhami demanded action against those who convert people forcibly or through allurement. They also demanded the withdrawal of an FIR against some Nihangs who were booked for allegedly disrupting an event organised by Christian missionaries at Daduana village in Amritsar district on Monday. Nihang Sikhs are armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue robes.

Registering a case against Nihang Sikhs after they made an effort to stop some people working for alleged religious conversion at Daduana village on Sunday at Mehta road in Amritsar was highly unfortunate, the Sikh leaders said.

“It is sad that some people are deliberately disturbing the environment of Punjab by giving it a communal colour and it will not be tolerated,” they said adding strict action should be taken against people who are converting people forcibly, by allurement, fraudulent manner and by spreading superstitions.