SGPC takes possession of Guru Granth Sahib ‘saroops’ returned by Doha

Amritsar, August 29

The SGPC has taken possession of the “saroops” (scriptures) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib returned by the police in Doha, Qatar, today. The scriptures have now been kept at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh, located in the Golden Temple complex.

According to SGPC secretary Partap Singh, the “saroops” were received at Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar on Wednesday night.

“The SGPC took possession of the scriptures at the airport from the persons concerned and transported them in a palanquin following Sikh maryada to Gurdwara Baba Gurbaksh Singh,” he said.

He added a report was taken from the SGPC employees who went to receive the “saroops” and the same was forwarded to Akal Takht.

The matter was recently brought to the notice of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh by UK-based Sikh organisation Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid, prompting the SGPC to contact External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian Ambassador to Qatar.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami praised the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in making serious efforts in recovering the “saroops”. The case concerns the arrest of a Sikh man by the Doha police in December 2023, who used to practice the faith with local community members at a gurdwara on his private property in Birkat Al-Awamer.

He was apparently arrested due to restrictions on non-Islamic public worship. Though he was later released, the two scriptures taken from his home were kept at Al Wakrah police station. The SGPC had approached the MEA to recover the “saroops” and demanded their possession.