SIT Visits SGPC Office Seeking Records on Missing 328 Guru Granth Sahib Saroops Case
CHANDIGARH: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab government to probe the alleged disappearance of 328 saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib on Thursday visited the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) office in Chandigarh to seek documents related to the case.
The development came a day after the SIT informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the SGPC was allegedly not cooperating in the investigation.
Addressing mediapersons, Harminder Singh Sandhu, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Detective), Amritsar, who is part of the SIT, said the police had written 14 letters to the SGPC seeking records and documents connected with the case but had not received any response so far.
He said the SIT had now personally visited the SGPC office to obtain the relevant documents required for investigation into the alleged disappearance of the saroops from the publication wing of the SGPC.
The Punjab Police had registered a case on December 7, 2025 against 16 persons on the complaint of former Hazuri Ragi Baldev Singh Wadala. The FIR pertains to allegations that 328 saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib had gone missing from the SGPC’s printing and publication department over a period of time.
The registration of the case had triggered a sharp confrontation between the Punjab government and the SGPC, with the Sikh body accusing the Bhagwant Mann-led government of interference in Sikh religious affairs.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami maintained that the committee was not refusing cooperation but objected to the nature of documents being sought by the SIT. He alleged that the investigation team was demanding records unrelated to the probe into the missing saroops.
“The SGPC respects the sanctity of law, but the Punjab government is trying to interfere in the independent functioning of Sikh institutions,” he said.
The SGPC had earlier opposed the registration of the FIR itself, arguing that the committee had not lodged any complaint with the police regarding the matter and that internal religious affairs of the Sikh community should not be politicised.
The issue has also drawn the attention of the Akal Takht. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh had recently advised the Punjab government to refrain from interfering in Sikh religious matters and stressed that panthic institutions should be allowed to function independently.
The controversy surrounding the alleged missing saroops has remained a sensitive issue within Sikh circles for several years. Questions had earlier been raised about the accounting and disposal procedures relating to damaged or old saroops at the SGPC publication wing.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court is currently monitoring the progress of the investigation after petitions were filed seeking a transparent probe into the matter.
Political observers believe the issue could further intensify tensions between the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab and the SGPC as well as sections of Sikh religious leadership ahead of major panthic deliberations expected later this year.
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