Bhagwant Mann accuses Delhi Police of violating Bangla Sahib sanctity; police cite ‘malicious’ video

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday condemned the alleged entry of Delhi Police personnel into Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in the national capital on Saturday, accusing them of having a "Taliban-like attitude" and violating the sanctity of the shrine.

A controversy had erupted over Delhi police personnel allegedly entering the gurdwara premises in Delhi on Saturday as some protesters, facing police action during demonstrations against the Chief Election Commissioner, sought refuge there.

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The Delhi Police said the video was circulated with "malicious intent" on social media and added that it would initiate legal action.

"I strongly condemn the forcible entry by the BJP's police into Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib in Delhi yesterday... History bears witness that Guru's houses of worship always keep their doors open to provide shelter to those in need... If the young people of this country who were protesting entered there yesterday, then the principle of Guru's house is that the sevadars should provide them shelter.

"The BJP's Delhi Police, with its Taliban-like attitude, entered the Gurdwara Sahib bareheaded and wearing boots on their feet, and they trampled upon the sanctity of Guru's house... The Sikh community will never forgive the BJP for this shameful act," Mann said in a post on X.

Responding to the video, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma, in a post on X, said the personnel seen in the video were walking through a common passage used by devotees to reach the point where they remove their shoes before entering the gurdwara.

"The video has been circulated deliberately with malicious intent, to outrage the feelings of a respectable religious community and is prejudicial to the religious harmony," Sharma said on Saturday.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Harmeet Singh Kalka had accused Aam Aadmi Party leaders of politicising the issue and defaming the religious institution.

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Kalka alleged that some protesters entered the gurdwara premises with placards and raised slogans as part of their demonstration.

He said staff members stopped them from forcing their way into the hall.

Questioning the criticism of police personnel who entered the premises to remove the protesters, Kalka said the police had intervened after the demonstrators entered the gurdwara.

Delhi Police detained more than 7,000 protesters attempting to reach the Jantar Mantar during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi on Saturday.