Pages of a holy Sikh book were allegedly found torn in a gurdwara at Devi Nagar village in Dera Bassi on Sunday leading to tension in the area.
A 28-year-old villager has been arrested and a case under relevant sections, including 295-A, deliberate and malicious act, intended to outrage religious feelings, registered against him, the police said.
Granthi Prem Singh found the pages of the religious book to be torn on Sunday morning when he went to the gurudwara to pay obeisance, the police said.
After he raised an alarm, the police reached the spot to investigate the matter. Heavy police force was deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
“In our probe, we found that a local, Surjit Singh alias Polla, was involved in this incident,” said Dera Bassi SP Jaskaran Singh.
He said that the accused was upset after the death of his sister three months ago and was also undergoing medical treatment.
Notably, several incidents of alleged desecration have taken place in different parts of Punjab. This was one of the major issues raised by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in their campaigns ahead of the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections.