Harcharan Singh, SGPC chief secretary

Harcharan Singh was a former banker whom Sukhbir Singh Badal, as Shiromani Akali Dal president, handpicked as chief secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on 27 August 2015, on a contract for three years (The Tribune).

• After his appointment: the post, with a reported salary of Rs 3 lakh a month plus perks, drew controversy. He volunteered to reduce it to Rs 1 lakh (The Tribune).
• 24 June 2017: Ishar Singh, a son of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and Jasbir Singh Rode, a former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, asked the SGPC executive at Anandpur Sahib to expel him. They accused him of victimising SGPC employees close to the Bhindranwale family and the Damdami Taksal and of implicating them in false corruption cases (Newslaundry).
• Late July 2017: he resigned, saying the reason was "purely due to personal reasons" (Newslaundry; The Tribune). The Tribune dates the resignation 29 July; Newslaundry's report of 29 July says he resigned "on Friday", which was 28 July. He left just short of two years in the post, well before his three-year contract was due to end (The Tribune).
• 24 August 2020: the SGPC executive announced criminal proceedings against him and other officials over the alleged misappropriation of 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib. He was also summoned to Sri Akal Takht Sahib with the 2016 executive on 18 September, over not performing the mourning prayers for the saroops lost in the May 2016 fire at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib (The Tribune).
• 5 September 2020: he died of a heart attack at the age of 75 (The Tribune).

His time in office is remembered for the pay row and for the 2020 case. The allegations against him in the saroops matter were allegations only, and the sources opened for this profile record no court finding.