Chandigarh: A day after Akal Takht excommunicated SGPC member Amarjit Singh Chawla from the Khalsa Panth over allegations levelled by a woman, Chawla on Monday accused officiating Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargajj of acting in haste, failing to hear his side and making him a “scapegoat”. Meanwhile, Punjab Police suspects Chawla may have fled to Canada and is consulting legal experts on the woman’s allegations against others named in her complaint.In a video message, Chawla said he would reveal in the next few days how the woman from Bahrain came to Anandpur Sahib, who brought or invited her and the circumstances in which she stayed there for a prolonged period.A senior Punjab Police officer, requesting anonymity, said, “We suspect Chawla may have fled Canada. We have made a request to the concerned authorities and are in the process of getting the details.”The officer said police had initially been enquiring into the allegations as the accused were “high profile”. On the other allegations made by the woman against other individuals, he said police were consulting their legal team. “The possibilities include addition of the offences and naming the accused in the existing FIR or registering a new one. The Aug 21 FIR in which Amarjit Singh Chawla has been named pertains specifically to rape allegations.”The woman has also alleged that other individuals sent her obscene messages, subjected her to verbal misconduct and failed to act despite her complaints.Chawla, however, denied that he had fled. “It is being said that I have run away and I am absconding. I have not run away nor gone absconding. I have just stepped aside,” he said, adding that he would not be intimidated.On his excommunication, Chawla questioned why he was not given an opportunity to present his side before the decision. “If you had decided that this decision had to be made, then at the very least, you should have called me once and heard my side of the matter,” he said.He also questioned why no inquiry committee was constituted before the action. Comparing his case with that of former SAD minister Sucha Singh Langah, Chawla said an inquiry committee had been formed before Langah was excommunicated in 2017. Langah was later acquitted in the rape case in 2018 after the complainant retracted her statement. He eventually underwent religious punishment in 2022 and was restored to the Panth.Chawla said there was no comparable evidence in his case and questioned the “extraordinary haste” in taking action. He also alleged that Gargajj had a grudge against him over his objection to Gargajj taking charge as Takht Kesgarh Sahib jathedar in pre-dawn hours in March 2025.Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) president Giani Harpreet Singh alleged that the woman was brought from abroad to “tarnish” his character in retaliation for the Dec 2 Hukamnamas. He claimed she was brought from Bahrain by a youth leader and accommodated at an SGPC-run sarai.Giani Harpreet Singh questioned how the woman could stay for around six months at a Guru Ghar sarai without the SGPC president knowing about it. He demanded the president’s resignation if he was genuinely unaware and sought an impartial probe into the matter. He also questioned how Chawla was allowed to leave the country after registration of the FIR.Akal Takht had on Sunday excommunicated Chawla and Golden Temple additional head granthi Malkit Singh following a meeting of Sikh religious functionaries. The action came after an Aug 21 FIR at Anandpur Sahib police station.
