Bhagwant Mann, AAP, used ' fake' forensic report to challenge Akal Takht findings: BJP

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) The BJP on Wednesday accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of attempting to undermine the Akal Takht's authority by allegedly procuring a fake forensic report to counter findings related to a controversial video.

The saffron party also demanded action against him and police officials allegedly involved in the matter.

Earlier this month, the Akal Takht declared Mann "guru dokhi" (anti-guru) and "Khalsa panth virodhi" (anti-Khalsa panth) over a video purportedly showing a man resembling him indulging in objectionable activities with pictures of Sikh gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that AAP leaders sought to discredit the findings of the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs instead of expressing remorse.

"Instead of repenting for this sin he committed, their minister Harpal Cheema held a press conference on June 18 and said that this video is fake," Sirsa alleged.

He claimed that Cheema had cited a forensic report based on the examination of 1,191 frames of the video and argued that it was not authentic.

An order issued by the five Singh Sahibs of the Akal Takht directed that no Sikh should maintain any association with Mann, he said.

"Following this, on June 15, Akal Takht Sahib declared Bhagwant Mann a guru apostate and an opponent of the Khalsa panth, expelled him from the Sikh community, and ordered Sikhs worldwide that no Sikh shall maintain any association with Bhagwant Mann," he said.

"The order came after a video surfaced in which Bhagwant Mann is seen allegedly sprinkling alcohol on the sacred swaroop (physical copy of the Guru Granth Sahib) of Guru Sahib. Following the emergence of this video, Sikhs across the world have expressed deep anger and pain," Sirsa added.

The BJP leader alleged that Mann's associate, Ludhiana commissioner Swapan Sharma, held a meeting at a hotel in Gurugram regarding a forensic laboratory in Gurugram.

"Money was exchanged during the meeting and the video was heavily edited to make it appear as if Bhagwant Mann was not present in it and that the video was fake," he alleged.

Sirsa also accused AAP leaders of disregarding Sikh sentiments.

"These people are willing to ignore the sentiments of Sikhs for money and get a fake narrative created," he said.

"The mindset being displayed in Punjab today is similar to the oppressive mentality with which wrongs were committed during the Mughal era. Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party and their associates have challenged Sikhs across the world by engaging in such actions and using money to produce a false report in an attempt to challenge the authority of Akal Takht," he alleged.

"This was an attempt to undermine the supremacy of the Akal Takht," Sirsa said.

Questioning the Punjab government's response, he asked why no action has been taken against Mann and the police officials allegedly involved.

"The law that you yourselves enacted, the law whose virtues you praised so much -- why has the first case under that law still not been registered against Bhagwant Mann?" Sirsa said.

Mann has rejected the video, saying it was "false propaganda" aimed at defaming him. The Punjab AAP had also claimed that forensic tests by two labs showed that the man in the alleged objectionable video was not Bhagwant Mann.

On Tuesday, Haryana Police arrested two men after registering a case on a complaint by a person who alleged he was approached for procuring a fabricated forensic report of the video linked to the controversy involving the Punjab chief minister. PTI