Punjab: Woman shot dead for consuming alcohol inside the Dukhniwaran Sahib Gurdwara premises

An instance of sacrilege has been reported from a Gurudwara on May 14 in Patiala. It has been alleged that the woman was consuming alcohol in Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib premises near the Sarovar. The woman has been identified as Parvinder Kaur. Apart from the murder of the woman, a sewadar has also been injured during the firing.

Talking with the media, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patila, Varun Sharma said, the incident took place around 9:30 pm on May 14. Accused Nirmaljit Singh Saini was arrested from the spot and a licensed revolver was recovered from him, he said, adding that Kaur aged between 45 and 50, arrived in Patiala from Zirakpur on May 14.

SSP Sharma also said that the woman was undergoing treatment at a de-addiction centre in Patiala for alcohol addiction.

Kaur was sitting near the Sarovar inside the gurdwara and consuming alcohol when devotees objected and took her to the room of the gurdwara manager, said Sharma.

“Nirmaljit Singh, who was among the onlookers watching the commotion, got enraged at Parvinder’s behaviour, took out his licensed revolver and fired five bullets, of which three to four hit Parvinder,” he added.

It was a 32-bore licenced revolver, an official statement said.

A sewadar, identified as Sagar Malhotra was also injured in the incident.

As per DSP Jaswinder Tiwana, the accused is a regular cricketer and into property dealings as well. However, they can’t confirm his motivations behind the murder yet.

Speaking about the de-addiction centre, Sharma said, the woman was “suffering from depression”. The crime took place in the heat of the moment and since the accused did not know the victim at all, the police have no reason to suspect personal enmity between the two, said Sharma.

Giani Parnam Singh, head granthi of Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib, told reporters Monday that when she was confronted by devotees near the Sarovar, Kaur smashed the liquor bottle in her possession and tried to use it as a weapon against a gurdwara employee. One of the gurdwara employees was also injured in the scuffle that ensued, he added.

He also said that when she was questioned in the manager’s room, the woman said she was working as a security guard in Panchkula and that somebody had planted the bottle of alcohol in her bag. He further claimed that when gurdwara employees checked her bag, they found some medicines and what seemed like small amounts of drugs in little packets.

Notably, another incident of sacrilege was reported in the first week of May. Here the accused, Jasvir Singh Jassi, was arrested by the Punjab Police for committing sacrilege at a gurdwara in Morinda. With him, the police arrested Jassa Singh for uploading the video claiming that no sacrilege had occurred. The two of them were charged under Sections 153 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Later, Jassi died out of a medical condition in the hospital.

On April 24, a video of Jassi went viral, showing him entering the sanctum sanctorum of Gurdwara Kotwali Sahib in Rupnagar district’s Morinda, hitting the two granthis (priests) and desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib. After his arrest on April 27, a man tried attacking Jassi with a revolver, however, the police arrested the attacker.

In the same week as Jassi died, a case was reported at Golewala village in Faridkot district. Here, two persons, including a local pastor, were arrested after torn pages of Gutka Sahib (holy book) were found scattered on a road. The accused have been identified as pastor Vicky Masih and Roop Lal, both residents of Sadiq in Faridkot.

Police said a Class 10 student found torn pages of Gutka Sahib when he was walking towards the local gurdwara around 10 am. The vehicle of the accused was spotted in a CCTV footage in which a person sitting on a co-passenger seat was seen throwing torn pages of Gutka Sahib on the road from a moving car. “With the help of the CCTV footage recovered from the spot, we traced the vehicle, and the accused were identified,’ said SSP Faridkot Harjeet Singh.

A case was registered under IPC Section 295A (deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class) at the Faridkot Sadar police station.

Also, a drug addict in Nihang attire in May 2023, allegedly committed the sacrilege of Gutka (a book of Gurbani) at Hargobindpur village of Gurdaspur.

The accused was identified as Karam Singh. He informed his neighbours, that he found desecrated Gutka somewhere in the locality. After being informed, Sikh activists gathered there and interacted with some residents whom they doubted.

On being taken to the police station, the accused confessed that he committed sacrilege to frame his relative for the crime. The police have registered a case against him under Section 295A of the IPC.