The arrest of chartered accountant Satinder Singh Kohli last week in the high-profile case of 328 missing copies (Birs) of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib has opened a fresh political and religious controversy. The focus has now widened beyond the missing holy scriptures to question the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's (SGPC) role in granting exclusive rights to broadcast Gurbani in Canada to a company allegedly linked to Kohli, who is a known associate of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal.
From Audit Scandal to Media Rights Controversy
Kohli's firm, S S Kohli & Associates, was appointed as the internal auditor for the SGPC in January 2009 for a monthly fee of Rs 3.5 lakh, a move that was criticized as politically motivated from the outset. His alleged negligence in audits is central to the missing Birs scandal, where a 2020 probe found his firm failed to detect ledger tampering and unrecorded sales. This allowed 186 Birs to be printed without permission after a 2016 fire that destroyed 267 copies, a fact allegedly concealed.
Now, BJP leader Sarchand Singh Khiala has alleged that Kohli is the director of Gurbaz Punjabi Media Inc, a Canada-based company holding exclusive rights to distribute PTC Punjabi in Canada. PTC is a television channel associated with the Badal family. Khiala claims the SGPC, controlled by Sukhbir Badal, allowed this distribution despite Kohli defying a Sri Akal Takht Sahib directive to repay 75% of the audit fees paid by SGPC over 11 years, an amount claimed to be over Rs 10 crore.
A History of Controversial Appointments and Political Pressure
The saga of Kohli's association with the SGPC is marked by allegations of rule-bending and political interference. His initial appointment bypassed SGPC rules requiring advertised posts for salaries above Rs 7,000. Despite being briefly sacked by the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission, he was reinstated.
On July 11, 2014, then SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar dismissed Kohli for "misuse of power" and questioned huge payments, only to reinstate him the very next day, allegedly under pressure from Sukhbir Badal. External audits repeatedly flagged severe flaws; a 2018 letter from a government-hired CA noted that SGPC staff withheld files and that the secretary acted "as Kohli's employee," obstructing proper oversight.
Denials and the Shadow of Political Targeting
When confronted with the allegations linking Kohli to Gurbaz Punjabi Media Inc, SGPC general secretary Sher Singh Mandela and PTC CEO Harpreet Singh Sahni both claimed unawareness. PTC's international director, Narinder Pal Singh, also denied knowledge, redirecting queries back to the CEO. Sukhbir Singh Badal himself has not responded to queries about his alleged links with Kohli.
Following Kohli's arrest, AAP leader Balraj Pannu alleged he was apprehended from a room booked in the name of a person connected to a private news channel linked to Badal. SGPC sources suggest the government's actions against Kohli might be a strategy to target Sukhbir Badal, potentially aiming to build a disproportionate assets case by recovering funds from his associate.
The intertwining of a religious audit scandal with media distribution rights in a foreign country has placed the operations of the SGPC and its political leadership under an intense spotlight, raising serious questions about governance, accountability, and the separation of religious management from political interests.
