Amritsar, Jan. 4 -- Making the second arrest in the case of missing 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib, Punjab Police on Saturday nabbed key accused Kanwaljit Singh. Singh, now 63, was the assistant supervisor of the SGPC publishing house where the sacred saroops were found short in the record, and whose statement led human rights advocacy group Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) to expose the entire scam in 2020. DCP (Investigation) Ravinderpal Singh Sandu, who is a member of the special investigation team (SIT) formed by the Punjab government to probe the case, said Kanwaljit was arrested from his residence on Tarn Taran road in Amritsar. As per officers privy to the probe, his mobile phones and some documents were also seized from his house. On January 1, police had 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. He is currently in six-day police remand. Kanwaljit's petition for anticipatory bail was pending in the Amritsar court and its next hearing was slated on January 5. However, his arrest made his plea irrelevant. Kanwaljit had retired as assistant supervisor from SGPC publishing house Guru Granth Sahib Bhawan, situated at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib, in vicinity of the Golden Temple, where the sacred saroops and other Sikh literature are printed and published. When he handed over his charge after retirement in May 2020, the SGPC had found 267 saroops missing as per the record. On the basis of his statement, the PHRO unearthed the alleged misappropriation in record by writing letters to Akal Takht and the Punjab chief secretary in 2020. On June 29, 2020, Kanwaljit had also lodged a complaint with the then Amritsar police commissioner, Sukhchain Singh Gill, against the officials of the gurdwara body. The SGPC had refuted his claims, citing his affidavit submitted to the SGPC office at the time of his retirement. Seeking action against the SGPC officials, he had said, "Apart from forcibly getting an affidavit from me, the SGPC officials continue to harass me to shut my mouth." SGPC had termed the accusations as "misleading" and "condemnable". Over five years later, on December 7, 2025, Amritsar police registered an FIR against 16 persons, including former SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh. On December 22, the state government constituted a six-member SIT to investigate the matter. Of the total 16 accused, three are dead and one is abroad. Having made two arrests, police continue to search for the remaining 10 accused. Commissioner of police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said police teams were conducting raids at various places across Punjab and Chandigarh to nab the remaining accused in this case. The issue has emerged as a flashpoint between the AAP-led Punjab government and Sikh 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 and interference into the internal affairs of the autonomous religious body, chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the SGPC of using the Takht as a "shield" to protect people close to their "masters". In 2020, a probe committee constituted by the Akal Takht had flagged serious lapses in record-keeping, monitoring and internal controls related to the handling of the sacred saroops. SGPC member and senior advocate Bhagwant Singh Sialka, who is also legal counsel of Satinder Singh Kohli, on Saturday stated that Kohli was being made scapegoat by the government to target Sukhbir Singh Badal. Meanwhile, several Sikh bodies are questioning the SGPC for its member turning as defence counsel of Kohli, terming it conflict of interest. Responding to the questions, Sialka, who has also been general secretary of the SGPC, said he was practising his occupation, alleging that attempts were being made to coerce Kohli into giving statements that suit the authorities....