9 Golden Temple threats in 6 days, CM says guilty persons behind bars soon
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Amritsar/Jalandhar: Two more threats of an attack on the Golden Temple were emailed to the SGPC on Saturday, taking the total number of such threats to the shrine to nine in just six days.
With concerns over security at the Golden Temple rising, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said in Jalandhar that police were tracing people behind the emails and some IP addresses had been identified. "Soon, guilty persons will be behind bars," he added.
The CM's statement came on a day Akal Takht former jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who now serves as the shrine's head granthi, objected to the demand made by Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla for deploying central security forces at the sacred site.
He said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was capable of ensuring the shrine's internal security and emphasised the govt's role should be limited to preventing disturbances outside the temple complex. "It is both surprising and unfortunate to learn that Gurjit Singh Aujla, a Sikh MP from Amritsar, wrote to the Union home minister requesting the deployment of central forces at the Golden Temple.
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Such a suggestion is deeply regrettable, especially from Aujla, who represents the Congress, whose history with the Golden Temple is well known, from the 1984 military attack to the destruction of the Akal Takht and damage to other gurdwaras," said Giani Raghbir.
He advised Aujla to refrain from making such a statement.
On the issue of threat emails, Giani Raghbir said the situation appeared to be part of a larger conspiracy, especially since the emails continued even after the arrest of a software engineer in connection with the case.
"These emails raise serious concerns about who, whether an individual, group, or agency, might be targeting the Golden Temple and attempting to create fear among the sangat (devotees)," he said.
He urged the govt to conduct a thorough investigation, intensify the interrogation of those already detained, identify the masterminds behind the threats, and present them before the sangat with exemplary punishment to restore public confidence.
Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, too, visited the sacred shrine during the day. "One suspect has already been arrested, and we are confident that others involved will be brought to justice," he said, while speaking to media.
He said Punjab Police were working day and night to ensure security outside the Darbar Sahib complex, in full accordance with maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct). "Have faith in the Guru's house—our agencies are actively working to apprehend the culprits, and they will be caught very soon," he added.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring slammed the continuous threats. "It is both strange and concerning that there has been no breakthrough," he said.
New threats despite arrest
The two fresh emails threatening an attack on the Golden Temple come despite the detention of Shubham Dubey, a software engineer from Faridabad, whose involvement remains under investigation. SGPC chief secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan said the emails appeared to be originating from different sources, raising concerns about the nature and coordination of the threats.
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