In a significant development in a long-pending religious and administrative scandal, the Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested Satinder Singh Kohli, the former internal auditor of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Kohli was taken into custody in connection with the mysterious disappearance of 328 copies (Birs) of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism.
The Arrest and the Broader Conspiracy
According to police sources, Satinder Singh Kohli was arrested late on Wednesday from Amritsar. Investigations are currently focused on unraveling the wider conspiracy that led to the theft of the sacred swaroops. The arrest came shortly after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Kotwali police station in Amritsar. This FIR names a total of 16 individuals as accused, including the former chief secretary of the SGPC, Roop Singh.
Background: Negligence, Financial Irregularities, and Political Links
Kohli's alleged involvement in the case is rooted in a history of professional misconduct. In 2020, on the orders of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the highest temporal seat of Sikh authority, he was removed from his position within the SGPC. A probe revealed shocking lapses in his duties. His firm, SS Kohli & Associates, a private chartered accountancy team, was hired by the SGPC in 2009 for internal audits, computerization of accounts, and control systems.
However, the investigation found that no internal audits were conducted by the SGPC after 2016. Despite this, Kohli's firm continued to receive payments. It was alleged that the firm performed only one of its four assigned tasks yet billed the SGPC for all. Over an 11-year period, the firm is accused of receiving more than Rs 10 crore from the SGPC, with monthly payments averaging Rs 3.5 lakh.
This systemic audit failure allowed the alleged mishandling and theft of the Guru Granth Sahib Birs to go undetected for years, despite repeated complaints from the Sikh community about poor record-keeping and maintenance of the religious texts.
Legal Repercussions and Political Reactions
Following the exposure of these irregularities, the SGPC in 2020 terminated Kohli's services with immediate effect. The committee also approved legal action to recover 75 per cent of the payments made to his firm.
The case took a political turn due to Kohli's reported closeness to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. In December of last year, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann publicly criticized the SGPC for failing to act on recovery proposals against Kohli. During a press conference, Mann questioned the delay and hinted at the influence of Kohli's proximity to Sukhbir Badal, whose party controlled the SGPC at the time of the alleged offences.
The arrest marks a crucial step in a case that has deeply hurt Sikh religious sentiments and raised serious questions about governance and accountability within the powerful gurdwara management body.
