Amritsar, Nov 19 (PTI) A man and his son were arrested at the airport here for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by carrying a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib in a suitcase against the Sikh tenets, police said on Thursday.

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The father-son duo was held minutes before hey were to catch a flight to Maharashtra, they said.

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Jawala Singh, a permanent 'sewadar' at a gurdwara in Moga and his son Jasveer Singh, also a 'sewadar' at gurdwara at Pune in Maharashtra, were booked on the charge of hurting religious sentiments.

Police said despite being well aware of the Sikh tenets, they showed disrespect to the Guru Granth Sahib by putting the holy book in a suitcase to be taken from one place to another without the “Panj Pyares' accompanying it.

Station House Officer Rajinder Singh said it was not the first time that they were taking Guru Granth Sahib in a suitcase.

Meanwhile, Giani Harpreet Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, dubbed the incident as unfortunate and said such incidents will not be tolerated.

Singh sought strict action against the duo so that nobody dares do such an act in future.

According to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Guru Granth Sahib cannot be carried in a plane. For this purpose, certain religious formalities were required.

When it is carried from one place to another, five beloved Sikhs move with Guru Granth Sahib and also a separate vehicle is arranged along with a team of Sikh religious people.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)