Punjabi Poet Arrested For Posting Derogatory Poem On Facebook About Guru Nanak Dev Ji!
A Punjabi poet named Surjit Gag has been arrested by the police for allegedly hurting Sikh sentiments by using derogatory language against Guru Nanak Dev Ji in a poem he posted on his FB page.
A case under section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered on the complaint of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib gurdwara manager Ranjit Singh.
The gurudwara management had brought the matter to the notice of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Kirpal Singh Badungar who had sought police complaint against the poet.
Surjit was earlier in news for his controversial poems and was expelled from the Zila Likhari Sabha, Rupnagar, some years back for his sarcastic poem against then ruling party Shiromani Akali Dal and its leaders.
Punjab Students Union state leader Ranbir Randhawa, Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) leader Surjit Singh, CPI district secretary Davinder Nangli, Tarksheel Society leaders Jasmer Singh, Harnek Singh and Kuldeep Singh and Indian Federation of Trade Union (IFTU) leader Tarsem Jatpur have condemned Gag’s arrest and said that this case has been registered under political pressure. They further said that it it was an attempt to suppress freedom of expression of writers and poets. They demanded immediate release of the poet.
