Slug: Chawla rape case

Acting on the directions of the jathedar, Takht secretariat incharge Bagicha Singh issued a summoning notice to the members. (HT)

Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj has summoned SGPC members Mithu Singh Kahneke and Jaswant Singh Purain for meeting chief minister Bhagwant Mann regarding the rape case involving Amarjit Singh Chawla. The jathedar stated that by doing so, both members violated a Takht edict that declared the CM as “Guru dokhi” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa panth virodhi” (anti-community).

According to a communique sent by the Takht secretariat on Wednesday, both members are barred from attending SGPC meetings until they receive a formal pardon from the Takht.

Kahneke and Purain were part of a delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), which met the CM in Chandigarh on September 23 urging him to conduct a thorough investigation into the rape allegations against Chawla, raising concerns about the integrity of revered Sikh institutions.

Acting on the directions of the jathedar, Takht secretariat incharge Bagicha Singh issued a summoning notice to the members. He said, “As SGPC members, it was their duty to ensure compliance with the Akal Takht’s decree, but they chose to violate it instead.”

SAD (Punar Surjit) calls it ‘politically motivated’

Gurpartap Singh Wadala, secretary general of SAD (Punar Surjit), while addressing the press on Wednesday, called the decision of the Akal Takht jathedar to ban opposition executive member Mithu Singh Kahneke from attending the executive meeting as a “politically motivated move” aimed at “shielding the SGPC from tough questioning”.