The Sikh community is in turmoil following allegations of embezzlement and cheating against office bearers of some of the city’s biggest gurudwaras. In recent times, there have been at least four cases where the matter was taken to the police, leading to the arrest of three office-bearers.
The latest scandal emerged two weeks ago when a group of devotees complained of fraud and cheating by two senior officials of a prominent gurudwara at Seven Bungalows, Andheri. The news of the arrests, which spread fast via text messages, shocked the community. Although the accused were let off on bail of Rs15,000 each, the development didn’t go down well with elders in the community.
The disturbing trend of power struggles to control managing committees first came to light in April 2008, when warring factions brandished swords during elections at another popular gurudwara in Santacruz (West). Heavy police reinforcements had to be brought in to get the situation under control.
In the same year, another conflict was witnessed at the Seven Bungalows gurudwara. Despite repeated conciliatory efforts by community leaders, no solution could be reached. Both the factions lodged complaints with the local police station, and finally, the matter reached the courts. One of the factions later secured a court order to conduct elections under the supervision of a judicial official.
Similarly, the earlier managing committee of the Sher-e-Punjab colony gurudwara failed to give proper accounts for over ten years. Following a public outcry, they were finally removed in 2009.
The old office bearers were asked to return the money, and when they failed to do so, a complaint was lodged at the MIDC police station. “These office bearers were in power for more than ten years. Two years ago, when the new members took over, there was just Rs6 lakh in the gurudwara account. Now, during the last two years, the bank balance grew to more than Rs45 lakh. You can imagine the kind of mismanagement that must have taken place,” said Gurnam Singh Hothi, one of the complainants in the case.
At present, a bitter tussle to take control of Gurudwara Singh Sabha at Four Bungalows, Andheri has complicated matters further. A large number of young devotees want the existing management to hand over the reins, alleging mismanagement.
The incumbent trustees, however, filed a complaint against their opponents alleging falsification of documents. Hectic efforts are on to defuse the.
As of today, the matter is pending before the state charity commissioner and a complaint too is pending with the DN Nagar police station.
