Pakistani Sikhs are enraged over a section of Pakistan media that described Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim as a Sikh spiritual leader.
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has denied that Ram Rahim is a Sikh spiritual leader and demanded strict punishment for him.
“He is not a Guru. He is not a Sikh. In fact, he is a rascal,” said Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) general secretary Gopal Singh Chawla, referring to Ram Rahim.
In a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, he denounced reports published in Pakistani newspapers and broadcast on news channels that projected Ram Rahim as a leader of the Sikh community, who was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping two dera sadhvis. “He can neither be a leader of the Sikhs nor part of the community,” said the PSGPC general secretary.
"It is a grave mistake to call him a Sikh leader as he had dared to mimic Guru Gobind Singh" he said.
Notably in 2007, Ram Rahim had dressed up as Guru Gobind Singh and also held an initiation ceremony which sparked outrage of the Sikhs.
Gopal Singh, also chairman of Punjabi Sikh Sangat, said Sikhs were ridiculed in Pakistan due to the false impression created by these reports that their spiritual leader has been convicted for a heinous crime.
He demanded even harsher punishment for the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, saying the 20-year jail was not sufficient for the crimes he committed. He said by suffixing Ram Rahim Singh with his name, the dera chief is hurting sentiments of all religions.
