Holy 'saroops of Guru Granth Sahib' brought back from Qatar to Amritsar

The 'Guru Granth Sahib saroops', which were seized by Qatar authorities for running a religious establishment without permission, were brought to Amritsar and have been handed over to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), following India's Ministry of External Affairs intervention.

The two holy saroops of Guru Granth Sahib, which were returned by the Doha police in Qatar, were brought here on Wednesday night.

After requests by the SGPC to the External Affairs Ministry, the Indian government intervened and took the matter with the Qatar authorities.

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SGPC Secretary Partap Singh said the committee was informed on Wednesday night that the saroops were being brought by a flight to Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport in Amritsar.

The committee then sent a special vehicle to receive the saroops and brought them in a palanquin carriage vehicle to Gurudwara Baba Gurbakhsh Singh.

MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Wednesday, thanked the Qatar government and urged Indian nationals in the Gulf countries to follow local laws.

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Earlier on August 23, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also wrote to EAM Jaishankar, requesting him to take up the issue of allowing Sikhs of Qatar to establishgurudwaras, so they could practice their religion freely.

"Appealed to Dr S Jaishankar to take up the issue of the release of two 'sWaroops' of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji from police custody in Qatar. Informed him that the Sikh 'sangat' of Qatar was in shock and anguish that the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which is regarded as the living Guru by the community, had been made a case property," Badal said in a post on X.

This comes after Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh directed the SGPC, after a charitable organisation, the Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid reported that an Indian national had been arrested in Doha in December 2023, in a case related to operating a religious establishment without approvals.

However, the Sikh man was later released, but the two holy saroops were seized from him and were kept at Al Wakara police station in Qatar's Doha.

(With inputs from agencies)