Punjab Police on Thursday arrested Satinder Singh Kohli, former internal auditor of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and close associate of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, in the 328 missing saroops case, from a hotel in Chandigarh.
Confirming the arrest, Amritsar deputy commissioner of police (DCP-investigation) Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu said Kohli is in the custody of the Amritsar police commissionerate and will be produced in court on Friday. Sandhu is also a member of the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab government to probe the case.
The arrest marks the first major custodial action since the registration of an FIR in the long-pending matter, which carries significant religious, legal and political implications in Punjab.
On December 7, Amritsar police registered an FIR against 16 persons, including former SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh, nearly five years after the disappearance of the sacred saroops came to light. On December 22, the state government constituted a six-member SIT to investigate the matter.
The issue has emerged as a flashpoint between the AAP-led Punjab government and Sikh religious bodies, including the Akal Takht and the SGPC. While the apex gurdwara body termed the registration of the FIR a direct challenge to the authority of the Akal Takht, chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the SGPC of using the Takht as a “shield” to protect people close to their “masters”.
Kohli’s arrest comes 12 days after a local court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, along with those of eight other accused in the case.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of sacked hazuri ragi of the Golden Temple, Baldev Singh Wadala, leader of the Sikh Sadbhawna Dal, under IPC Sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult a religion), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) at Division-C police station in Amritsar.
The matter was first exposed by the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), a human rights advocacy group, which wrote to the Akal Takht and the Punjab chief secretary in 2020. A probe committee constituted by the Akal Takht subsequently flagged serious lapses in record-keeping, monitoring and internal controls related to the handling of the sacred saroops.
The committee’s findings pointed to systemic negligence within the SGPC administration, leading to allegations of misappropriation and possible sacrilege.
Kohli’s firm, SS Kohli and Associates, was appointed by the SGPC in 2009 to conduct internal audits, computerised accounts and strengthen financial control systems. The firm reportedly received a monthly payment of around ₹3.5 lakh for these services.
However, the Akal Takht-appointed inquiry committee later observed that the firm allegedly carried out limited work while claiming payments for multiple responsibilities, and failed to prevent the loss and mismanagement of the sacred saroops. Following the inquiry report, the SGPC terminated the firm’s services in 2020 and passed a resolution to recover 75% of the payments made.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a strong public stance on the issue. Addressing a press conference recently, he said the government received multiple complaints from religious and social organisations, prompting the registration of the FIR. He alleged that while the SGPC had earlier passed resolutions seeking legal action, it later described the issue as an internal matter once a police case was lodged.
Reacting to Kohli’s arrest, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said politics was being played by the Punjab government over the missing saroops issue and accused it of playing with Sikh sentiments.