India, March 10 -- After nihang outfits threatened to disrupt the ceremony and Sikh organisations decided to boycott it, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) installed Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, 40, as the jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Sri Anandpur Sahib in the presence of the 'Panj Pyare (five beloved ones of the Guru)' of the Akal Takht at 2.45am, seven hours before schedule, on Monday. The new jathedar has also been given the additional charge of the acting jathedar of Akal Takht in Amritsar, the highest Sikh temporal seat.

The ceremony was to be held at 10am on Monday and invites had been sent to Sikh organisations, sects and seminaries. However, after the controversial removal of Giani Raghbir Singh as the Akal T...