Dera row: SGPC demands probe into Sikh’s killing

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of a city-based Sikh allegedly...

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of a city-based Sikh allegedly by a bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh last week.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said they had submitted a memorandum to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil and demanded that the Dera chief be booked for Balkar Singh’s murder.

Makkar said Patil had assured that those arrested during protests after the 42-year-old’s killing would be let off. He said the protests following the murder were spontaneous as the community was outr-aged at the killing of an innocent person.

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On Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s comments against the violent protests, the SGPC chief said the Sikh community was more concerned than Thackeray about maintaining peace and harmony.

“We are thankful to him (Thackeray) for supporting Sikhs in Mumbai during the 1984 riots,” he said. “If there is an attack on one’s religion by a person as lowly as Ram Rahim Singh, everyone is bound to feel the same way as the Sikhs.”

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