Govt makes U-turn days after CM Mann’s claim, says all saroops accounted for at Banga gurdwara

PTC News Desk: Facing pressure, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Thursday cleared the influential Rasokhana Shri Nabh Kanwal Raja Sahib of allegations that 139 unaccounted saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib had been found at the Banga shrine. 

Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, who visited the shrine at Majara Nau Abad village along with Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang and Education Minister Harjot Bains, said there were no irregularities in the records of the saroops kept there.

His remarks followed a challenge from the Rasokhana management committee, which questioned the government’s claim and asked Banga MLA Sukhwinder Sukhi and MP Kang to clarify whether they stood with the government or the shrine, which has a large following in the Doaba region. 

As the controversy escalated, Sukhi—elected on an SAD ticket before joining the AAP—resigned on Sunday as chairman of the Punjab State Container and Warehousing Corporation.

Earlier, during the Maghi Mela at Muktsar, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had stated that the Special Investigating Team probing the case of 328 missing saroops had recovered 169 at the Banga shrine, of which records existed for only 30, leaving 139 unaccounted for. However, Cheema said on Thursday that the shrine’s records were in order and indicated that the Chief Minister would visit the site soon. He also suggested that the controversy may have arisen due to a “miscommunication” by SIT members while conveying the findings.