Takht ex-jathedar alleges illegal selling of Tarn Taran gurdwara's land; SGPC rubbishes allegations
Akal Takht former jathedar Ranjit Singh on Wednesday accused the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) of committing misappropriation in the sale of Tarn Taran historic Sikh shrine's land worth crores of rupees.
While addressing a press conference here, he alleged that this property was donated by the devotees to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Tarn Taran, but SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, along with member Alwinderpal Singh Pakhoke, is selling it off to their favoured individuals at throwaway prices.
Speaking to journalists, Ranjit Singh said the property adjoining the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Tarn Taran Sahib is worth crores. He claimed that attempts have been made to sell this property 40 times before, but the bids were always cancelled. 'This time, however, without any public bidding process, Dhami and the Badal group are selling the property to their close associates at extremely low prices,' he said.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) refuted the allegations made by the former jathedar regarding the alleged sale of certain plots belonging to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at undervalued prices.
SGPC secretary Pratap Singh and assistant secretary Gurnam Singh, clarified that the land in question was not in use by the Gurdwara Sahib and had been facing frequent encroachments. Based on the recommendations of the SGPC's Property Sub-Committee, the executive committee took the decision to sell the land. They stated that the SGPC sold the land through a proper open bidding process after issuing public advertisements.
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