Self styled godman Piara Singh Bhaniarewala dead

Self styled godman Piara Singh Bhaniarewala, 61, having his 'dera' at village Bhaniara near Nurpurbedi in this district passed away Monday morning, his close associates said.

He had thousands of followers mainly among the dalit community.

His associates said Bhaniarewala had developed chest pain and complained of suffocation, following which he was being taken to a hospital in Mohali, but he died on the way near Kharar.

The controversial preacher had faced wrath of Sikh community and was excommunicated from the Sikh community by the Akal Takht in 1998 for distorting the Guru Granth Sahib and publishing his own granth (holy scripture)Bhav Sagar Granth.

Bhaniarewala was later arrested on charges of blasphemy and so called holy book written by him was banned.

A resident of Dhamiana village of Rupnagar district, Bhaniarewala was one of the seven children of Tulsi Ram, a mason.

Before becoming a religious leader, he was working in a sericulture farm in Asmanpur village, as a Class IV employee of the Punjab state's horticulture department.

Bhaniarewala came to fame in 1985 when former Union Home Minister Buta Singh visited him and backed his bid to create a clout among dalit communities of Punjab.

Buta Singh too had been excommunicated by Akal Takht in the wake of his role in the rebuilding of Akal Takht, damaged during the Operation Blue Star in 1984.

In September 2001, during a religious ceremony organized by Bhaniarewala's followers, a newly-formed organization called Khalsa Action Force attacked him.

Again in January 2005, a member of Babbar Khalsa, Gurdeep Singh Rana was arrested for trying to assassinate Bhaniarewala using a bomb.

Bhaniarewala was keeping a low profile even though a large number of his followers used to visit him.