Granth Sahib were found rotting in the Card board manufacturing factory.
When the matter became public, various Sikh hardliner organizations including Damdami Taksal, Shriomani Akali Dal Panch Pardhani, Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee reached on the spot and cordoned off the Card Board Factory.
To defuse the situation a heavy police party reached on the spot wherein nearly 40 gunny bags loaded with the pages of Guru Granth Sahib were recovered.
On the demand of the Sikh Fundamentalists, police booked the owner of the Card Board Factory Ravinder Kumar and Arun Kumar under section 295-A for willfully hurting the religious sentiments of particular community. Before the situation slipped out of control, police arrested both the accused followed by the immense pressure mounted by Sikh hardliners.
Accused told the police that they have purchased the pages as junk from Jawahar Publisher and they were never aware off that pages were the part of Holy Guru Granth Sahib and could create such a big matter.
On being investigation, police found that Jawahar Publishers are based at Amritsar who were publishing the copies of Guru Granth Sahib long back but stopped printing when Punjab Government slapped blanket ban on publishing of Guru Granth Sahib by any private publisher and sole rights of publishing were given to SGPC. Pages in bulk were decaying with the publisher who instead of carrying out respectful cremation of pagers they preferred to sell it off to Card Board factory in scrap in order to mint money which hurt the sentiments of Sikhs.
It is noteworthy here that in Sikh religion Guru Granth is the living Guru of Sikhs and Sikh community. Supreme Court of India has already delivered judgment on this issue .
In case, when copies of Guru Granth Sahib damaged or its pages, never destroyed in haphazard manner or thrown to scrap dealer. Since for Sikhs Guru Granth Sahib is a living Guru, so old damaged copies always cremated with Sikh religious tenets in the presence of five Sikh head priests after performing Ardas (prayer as per Sikh rituals).
Police has also booked two people of Jawahar Publisher for willfully hurting the sentiments of Sikh community.
