Golden Temple authorities have issued a rebuttal after Indian Army official said they had allowed the deployment of air defence guns on the premises. Head priest Giani Raghbir Singh insisted on Tuesday that no such permission had been given as India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The remarks came a day after Lieutenant General Sumer Ivan D’Cunha — the army’s in-charge of air defence — told the media that the head granthi had ‘allowed’ the military to deploy its guns.
“I was not contacted by any army officer. There was no communication on any gun deployment, nor did any such incident occur at Sri Darbar Sahib…The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee should probe the army’s claims and take departmental action if any SGPC member is found involved in this matter,” Hindustan Times quoted Singh as saying.
The Golden Temple head priest explained that he had been on leave and travelling to the US at the time. The publication also quoted him as explaining that the conflict started after his departure on April 24 and ended before his return to India on May 14.
Meanwhile D’Cunha told news agency ANI during an interview that the Golden Temple management allowed the Indian Army to deploy air defence guns within the shrine to counter potential drone and missile threats from Pakistan. He also noted that the lights of the shrine were switched off for the first time in history to facilitate better detection and engagement of enemy drones — which helped the Indian defence forces spot and engage enemy drones more clearly.
“Pakistan was more interested in creating confusion, chaos internally, and hence, we visualised that they would target our civil population and our religious places of worship….It was very nice that the Head Granthi of the Golden Temple allowed us to deploy our guns. It is possibly for the first time in many years that they switched off the Golden Temple lights so that we could see the drone coming,” Lt General D’Cunha told ANI on Monday.
He also said that the unprecedented decision came after the Golden Temple authorities were briefed on the gravity of the threat — following which Indian Army guns were deployed. The senior Army officer had also praised the overwhelming support from the local population (especially retired servicemen) during the media interaction.
“The Golden Temple hierarchy realised there was possibly a threat when it was explained to them. They allowed us to deploy guns to secure and protect the monument of international fame which is visited by hundreds and thousands of people every day. Hence, these guns were deployed, and the golden temple lights were switched off so that we could clearly visualise the drones as they were coming in. That gave us a greater clarity in the sky because as and when you saw the light, you knew what to engage,” he reiterated.
(With inputs from agencies)