The Punjab Assembly has unanimously passed a bill proposing stricter punishment, including life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 25 lakh, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a crop loss assessment following recent inclement weather and promised compensation to affected farmers. The announcement came as Mann presented a report on the power department and addressed other issues including sacrilege laws and drug enforcement.
Former IPS officer Amar Singh Chahal allegedly shot himself after claiming he was duped of Rs 8.10 crore by cyber thugs. He was one of the accused in the 2015 police firing cases related to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.
The move came days after the Supreme Court vacated the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial in three sacrilege cases.
Ram Rahim, lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail, is serving a 20-year sentence handed out to him in 2017 for allegedly raping two of his disciples.
Bakshish Singh, a resident of Talli Gulam village, allegedly tore some pages of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, after entering the premises of the gurdwara in Bandala village, they said.
Singh's suspension came days after he questioned the manner in which a vigilance bureau team raided the residence of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Amritsar in a disproportionate assets case.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has received five e-mails threatening to blow up the Golden Temple since July 14, president of the apex gurdwara body Harjinder Singh Dhami said on Wednesday.
Bareta, who was one of the accused in the incidents related to the desecration of a religious text in Faridkot in 2015, was declared a proclaimed offender.
A man has been booked for placing a piece of meat outside the Jama Masjid in Agra, India. Around 60 others who protested against the act after Friday prayers have also been named in the FIR. The incident triggered tension in the locality and police were deployed to maintain security. Authorities are investigating the intent behind the act and whether the accused acted alone.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithi Singh a resident of Baghapurana and Amardeep Singh and Mithu Singh, both residents of Malke village.
Some residents of village Nizampur claimed that the man disrespected the Nishan Sahib and tried to run away but was caught after a chase.
The unspoken subject of Mithya is violence, and the big zinger here is our recognition that the movie is showing us the makings of a juvenile delinquent -- perhaps the finest since Truffaut unleashed his Antoine Doinel, applauds Sreehari Nair.
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
"We did not find any sacrilege attempt or any evidence to back it. One person ran the gurdwara. This thing has moved to murder and inquiry is on," Channi said.
A loud sound was heard at around 1 am outside Kalia's residence near Shastri Market in Jalandhar, police said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.
The incident took place when the man jumped golden grills inside the sanctum sanctorum, picked a sword and reached near the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa held a meeting in Amritsar with the deputy commissioner, the police commissioner, the inspector general of police (border range), the Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police and other officials after the incident.
Badal's resignation came days after he urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to pronounce his punishment for religious misconduct charges, saying more than two months have passed since he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct).
The Rajya Sabha chairman said this was not the first time that such a suspension has happened. Starting in 1962 till 2010, members were suspended on 11 occasions in furtherance to motions moved by the governments of the day.
Reddy's appeal comes days after Naidu alleged during a NDA legislative party meeting that the previous YSRCP government did not even spare Sri Venkateswara temple and used substandard ingredients and animal fat for making laddus.
The allegations sparked a massive controversy across the country, hurting the sentiments of crores of Hindus.
Descendants of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose claim they have documentary evidence to prove that the Renkoji temple authorities in Japan have always been willing to hand over the 'ashes' believed to be his, refuting perceptions of roadblocks to their repatriation. They assert that successive Indian governments have shown little interest in retrieving the remains and conducting DNA tests, despite numerous appeals from the family. The article highlights the conflicting reports and controversies surrounding Netaji's death and the ongoing mystery surrounding his remains.
Pronouncing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the 'mistakes' committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday directed the senior Akali leader to perform as a 'sewadar', and wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Terming as painful the alleged incidents of desecration of holy books, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said it was a "willful act" to disturb Punjab as he prayed at the Golden Temple here for "return of peace" in the state.
Kumar has denied arranging any meeting between former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and the Dera Sacha Sauda sect head.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
As tight security measures were put in place across Punjab, officials on Sunday said that checking of vehicles has been intensified at various places while paramilitary along with state police force has been deployed in Kotkapura, where Bittu's body was brought from Nabha in the morning.
the Mahant said the entire Hindu community was in a state of shock over the media reports suggesting that this year the Shivalingam (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) had been raised manually.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
A sojourn in Seoul, one of Asia's largest metropolises, where the ultra-modern coexists with the ancient -- temples and palaces with futuristic skyscrapers climbing to the stratosphere, K-pop with Buddhism, a village within city limits.
'The victory is an expression of agrarian distress and social turmoil.'
'The people decide who is a purush, yugpurush and a mahapurush'
Dhillon told reporters that IPS Section 304 slapped against the Nihang could be converted into Section 302 (murder) following further investigation.
Since nothing irritates Lijo Jose Pellissery more than a throwaway critical judgment, Sreehari Nair carefully presents his opinions about Malaikottai Vaaliban, a good two weeks after he first saw the movie.
Unemployment, delivery of justice in desecration cases, illegal sand mining and drug menace are likely to be key issues in the Punjab assembly elections.
The arrested belong to an outfit called the 'Hindu Yodha Sangathan', and the leader of the group is a history-sheeter with four criminal cases registered against him, police said.
The Punjab police arrested Jasvir Singh after the incident and booked him for hurting religious sentiments and attempt to murder.
If we accept that there is a challenge in Punjab today, any realistic progress can only be made if the rest of the country, especially the government and the ruling party, engage with this sense of grievance, points out Shekhar Gupta
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