The executive committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday rejected its own resolution, passed earlier this month, that demanded the excommunication of Narain Singh Chaura who opened fire at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in a bid to attack former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. “The meeting led by SGPC President Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami on Tuesday rejected its resolution of an earlier meeting of December 9, in which a demand was made to Sri Akal Takht Sahib to excommunicate Narain Singh Chaura from the Panth,” an SGPC press note said. Chaura was arrested after the incident on December 4. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the SGPC had demanded his excommunication whereas the Dal Khalsa had opposed the demand. The executive committee also condemned the killing of three Punjab youths in Uttar Pradesh in an alleged encounter and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. “A resolution was passed regarding the police encounter in UP and strong questions were raised on it. The resolution said that this is a very serious matter and it seems like a deliberate act to target the youth of Punjab. Today’s EC meeting strongly demands a judicial inquiry into this encounter,” the SGPC note said. The executive committee further passed a resolution to extend the term of the investigation panel formed to probe suspended Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh by one month in view of the elections of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. The services of Giani Harpreet Singh had been suspended after he alleged that some SAD leaders were attempting his character assassination to divert attention from the Akal Takht’s decisions on the SAD’s reorganisation.
