Woman shot dead for consuming alcohol in Patiala gurdwara complex, 1 held

 A woman, who was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction, was shot dead for allegedly consuming liquor on the premises of a gurdwara here, police said on Monday.

The accused, who has been arrested, said he committed the act in a fit of anger as his religious sentiments were hurt, they said.

Parwinder Kaur, in her late 30s, was allegedly consuming liquor near the ‘sarovar’ (holy pond) of Dukhniwaran Sahib gurdwara on Sunday evening.

Nirmaljit Singh Saini, a regular visitor to the gurdwara, shot at Kaur multiple times using his licensed revolver, Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma said.

Saini, a property dealer with no previous criminal records, told gurdwara officials that he was upset over the incidents of sacrilege, including the recent one at Morinda gurdwara, police said.
The accused was produced before a court here that sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

“Parwinder Kaur was having liquor near the ‘sarovar’ of gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib. When the sangat noticed this, they decided to take her to the manager’s office,” Patiala SSP Sharma said.

As Kaur emerged from the gurdwara manager’s room accompanied by police personnel, she was fired at by Saini, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) officials said, adding that the man surrendered before police voluntarily and handed over his weapon to them.

“Saini fired five rounds at the woman with his 32-bore licensed revolver,” police said in an official statement.

The SSP said three bullets hit Kaur and she died on the spot.

Police said a man also received bullet injury in the incident. He has been hospitalised and is stated to be in a stable condition.

According to police, preliminary investigation revealed that Kaur was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction.

Sharma said a prescription slip of a de-addiction centre here was recovered from her belongings. She had mood swings and depression, doctors had said in the prescription.

No family member has come to claim the body of Kaur, who boarded a bus from Zirakpur on Sunday to reach the gurdwara, yet or to give any statement, the SSP said, adding that they have not been able to identify where she stayed.

Preliminary police investigation also revealed that the accused had recently undergone divorce proceedings.

Meanwhile, members of various Sikh bodies reached the court complex where Saini was produced by police and greeted him by showering flower petals when he was later escorted out by police after being remanded to judicial custody.

Satinder Singh, manager of the gurdwara, said Kaur was in a drunken state and had a liquor bottle and tobacco packets with her. She sat near the ‘sarovar’ and consumed liquor, he said.

The SGPC officials said when a few devotees noticed the “violation of maryada (code of conduct)”, gurdwara officials were alerted and they brought the woman to the manager’s office.

The woman allegedly attacked the ‘sewadars’ (attendants) of the gurdwara with the liquor bottle, resulting in a minor injury to one of them, the SGPC officials alleged.

“She did not give a proper statement. She said she belonged to Mohali but later said she was from Panchkula. We informed police and they arrived at the spot to take her away. Just as she stepped out of the manager’s office, she was shot,” the gurdwara manager said.

Reacting to the incident, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, in a statement issued in Amritsar, said that the “anti-Sikh forces are targeting Gurdwara Sahibs with a deliberate conspiracy, while the government is sitting as a silent spectator”.

He alleged that the mischievous act of drinking alcohol by a woman inside the historical gurdwara in Patiala is a conspiracy, it cannot be a random phenomenon.

Dhami said that anti-Sikh forces were succeeding in their plans due to the alleged lax performance of the government, which is causing resentment in the community, as he also referred to recent blast incidents near the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

“…If exemplary action is taken against the accused, no one will dare to commit such acts. If the government fulfils its due responsibilities, then such conspiratorial incidents will not happen,” he said.

SGPC executive member, Jarnail Singh Kartarpur, emphasized the importance of addressing security concerns in all gurdwaras.