29 auugust 2024 : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has taken possession of the holy ‘saroops’ (scriptures) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib returned by the local police in Doha (Qatar) today.
The holy scriptures were preserved with due respect at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh situated in the Golden Temple complex.
SGPC secretary Partap Singh said that information was received on Wednesday night that the ‘saroops’ arrived at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar.
“Taking immediate action on this input, SGPC took possession of the holy ‘saroops’ at the airport and brought them with ‘maryada’ (Sikh conduct) and reverence in a palanquin carriage vehicle, and preserved them at Gurdwara Baba Gurbaksh Singh”, he said.
He said that the report in this matter was taken from the SGPC employees who went to receive the holy ‘saroops’ and sent to the Akal Takht.
The matter was recently brought to the notice of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh by the United Kingdom based Sikh organisation Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid, following which SGPC had approached the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and the Indian Ambassador to Qatar.
Appreciating the role of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for making serious efforts in recovering the ‘saroops’, SGPC president Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami said, “The Centre fulfilled its responsibility when approached by SGPC initially in recovering the ‘saroops’ from the Doha police custody,” he said.
The matter pertains to the arrest of a Sikh by Doha police in Qatar in December 2023, who used to practice Sikh faith along with local community members in the gurdwara established in his private property at Birkat Al-Awamer.
He was arrested, apparently due to strict restrictions on the non-Islamic faith’s public worship. Though he was later released, the two ‘saroops’ taken from his place then were kept at the Al Wakrah police station, which was disrespectful. SGPC had approached MEA for the recovery of the ‘saroops’ and demanded their possession.