CHANDIGARH: Punjab police have arrested two baptised Sikh brothers for the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Faridkot's Bargari village and are believed to have committed the crime at the behest of a "foreign hand".

As many as 112 torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found by residents on October 12 which triggered widespread protests across the state. The government had come under a lot of flak after police had opened fire on more than 200-odd protesters at Faridkot's Behbal Kalan village, killing two of them. In all, eight cases of desecration have been reported and police claim to have cracked five.

Additional director general of police (ADGP, crime and security) Iqbal Preet Sahota said 25-year-old Rupinder Singh and his 28-year-old brother Jaswinder belong to Panjgrain village in Faridkot. The two have been slapped with charges of hurting religious sentiments and criminal conspiracy.

Officials have acquired a 40-second recording of a telephonic conversation which makes subtle references to the desecration. According to the audio clip, which the police claim to be a clinching evidence, Rupinder makes polite inquiries from his brother on what is to be done with the holy book. When his brother seeks clarity on whether Rupinder is referring to the torn pages or the remaining portion, he asks him not to discuss the issue on the phone. In another audio clip between an Australian and Rupinder, references are made on financial transactions.

A 'bir' of Guru Grath Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singhwala village on June 1. People have alleged that the Bargari pages belong to this book but police are yet to confirm this. The remaining portion of the holy book has not been found in the possession of the brothers.

Sahota hinted at some radical Sikh groups settled outside India as being behind the desecrations and saw it as an attempt to disturb the peace in Punjab. He said that he suspected a "foreign hand" in the act of hurting religious sentiments but refused to clarify who he was pointing to.

According to him the crime was committed for money as well as to create unrest in Punjab.

While these disclosures were made by the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by Punjab government on October 14, a battery of Punjab ministers led by deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal rushed to address media at Punjab Police headquarters on Tuesday evening. "I have been particularly pained by these incidents of sacrilege and I seek exemplary punishment for them," Sukhbir said.

While Rupinder is nursing a back injury at Apollo hospital in Ludhiana, Jaswinder is being further interrogated by Faridkot police officials. "During interrogation, it has been found that the two brothers have been talking to their masters abroad, including Dubai and Australia, and discussed about delivery of cash to them in lieu of their acts of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib" said Sahota.

