Sikh preacher arrested in Punjab

chandigarh-Punjab-mapChandigarh, Jan 2 : A Sikh preacher who heads a prominent gurdwara here and who is wanted in cases of cheating and fraud was arrested in a Punjab town Saturday, police said.

"We arrested Prithpal Singh from Machhiwara town (near Punjab's industrial city Ludhiana) this (Saturday) evening. We will produce him before the court Sunday," said a police officer.

"Singh is wanted in many cases. After interrogation, we hope to solve these cases," he added.

Singh was absconding since the police booked him in May last year. He is wanted in a case of cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy. He has been also charged with selling land belonging to someone else in a Punjab town.

The preacher, who prefixes the title Baba (godman) to his name, runs the Gurdwara Gur Sagar Sahib near Sukhna Lake that counts amont its visitors top politicians, bureaucrats, police officers and other influential people.

After the arrest, he said: "I was returning to Chandigarh to surrender before the police after paying obeisance at a gurdwara in Punjab, but the police arrested me. Still, I have full faith in the Indian judiciary."(IANS)