PS Umranangal and Bargari Sacrilege Case — New Findings

Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege which took place in 2015, is a set of the same incidents which resulted in subsequent protests that happened in Punjab, India in October 2015. The incident of sacrilege led to the 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident, that’s unfortunately also referred to as IGP Umranangal Kotkapura Police Firing Case. This is one of the biggest incidents & controversies that have affected public life and Punjab administration.

The protesters were carrying sticks and black flags. Throughout the clash, both police and several protesters were hurt, from which a young protester was shot in the legs. One police officer was also beaten mercilessly by the crowd, and he was left paralyzed waist down. It is a known fact that policemen, in huge numbers, were present at the scene.

Sumedh Saini Breaks Silence on IGP Umranangal Firing Case

As per the then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, the executive magistrate ordered the usage of force at Kotkapura just to control the situation and there’s no concrete evidence to verify that Paramraj Singh Umranangal IPS was engaged in any wrongdoing. He also added that police, outside Faridkot, was called because the district police were not having enough officials to handle the disgruntled mob.

He termed this as elementary policing. Zonal IG and ADGP law & order, as well as other officers, were also present at the scene with IG Umranangal. It is out of question that someone could single-handedly decide of shooting, at the crowd, without getting a consent of his immediate seniors.

DGP Sumedh Singh Saini said that Umranangal’s arrest is a political move. Strangely, there was a demand raised for his arrest way before the investigation was initiated and even before it was determined whether the investigation would be done by Special Investigation Team or CBI.

This is not a case of violence directly, but it’s a conspiracy or perhaps a political agenda with some motive. The public prosecutor complained that IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal is falsely framed in this case and the conspiracy behind violence and subsequent Kotkapura firing case is yet to be confirmed.

Suspended IG Umranangal Gets Bail in Kotkapura Firing Case

Umranangal said, “because this case is under court, my lawyers have advised me that it is not fair to comment about this case for me at this time so I can’t say anything about anyone. I have left everything in God’s hands.

Consequently, IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal gets bail in Kotkapura Case. The honorable court directed Punjab Police to give him seven days advance notice if in any case he’s required to be cross-examined.

PS Umranangal and Bargari Sacrilege Case New Findings

The SIT back then claimed a breakthrough at a press conference on October 21, 2015, terming the Bargari sacrilege incident handiwork of some foreign handlers.

The SIT also caught two Sikh youth, Rupinder and Jaswinder Singh, both natives of Panjgrain village in Faridkot, concluding that the two brothers were in touch with someone in Australia as well as their funding by foreign-based handlers has already been established. It also claimed to have intercepted their calls to handlers in Dubai and Australia. Audio clips of telephonic discussions between Rupinder together with his foreign handler and Rupinder and Jaswinder, who was using his relative Gurbachan Singh’s, were also shared.

The media also highlighted that that the “foreign handlers” named in the case were NRIs who sent money to Rupinder and Jaswinder to finance the anti-sacrilege protest in Bargari, adding fuel to the fire.

Mohinder Pal Bittu, Main Conspirator in Bargari Sacrilege Case

SIT apprehended Bittu from Palampur in Himachal in a 2011 case of arson in Moga and claimed that during his interrogation, it emerged that he was also the main conspirator of Bargari sacrilege who had involved Sunny, Shakti and others. The SIT even claimed that Bittu had initially planned to kill Sikh radical leader Baljeet Singh Daduwal and a meeting in regard was held between him and two other Dera followers Harsh Dhuri and Pardeep Kalair by the directions of Rakesh Dirba, personal secretary to Dera chief. The blueprint to carry out sacrilege in Bargari was the handiwork of Bittu and others to take revenge of the insult of the Dera head by Sikh preacher Harjinder Singh Manjhi at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village.

The inquiry further claimed that on Bittu’s directions, another Dera follower Randeep went inside Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara and picked the “bir”. Bittu was also charged with being the mastermind behind the posters put up at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala to frighten the Sikh community that “angs of their living god” (Sikhs worship pages of the holy book as body parts) will be cut and scattered. When the SIT got his remand for 10 days, Bittu, a Kotkapura resident, confessed to carrying out the sacrilege in a statement before the judicial magistrate, Moga, under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As the CBI was already probing the matter, the SIT even claims of finding the culprits, handed over its report to the central agency.

Giving a clean chit to Dera Sacha Sauda followers in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, the CBI, in its closure report filed in the case, disproving the findings of the Khatra-led SIT and gave clean chit to Dera men Bittu, Sunny and Shakti. Though Bittu has admitted his crime, CBI excluded the claims of the SIT in the report. Rest everyone knows what’s happening? Everybody is playing their political game, nobody is interested to know about the real truth behind sacrilege.