In atonement: Monica at Golden Temple

Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi on Monday offered prayers, washed dishes and swept floors at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in atonement of her "past mistakes".

Clad in a pink salwar kameez and accompanied by her father Prem Bedi and uncle Parshottam Bedi, Monica first paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept.

The actress, who was released last month after her incarceration in connection with a passport forgery case, quietly wept while 'shabd kirtan' (hymns) were being rendered.

After paying obeisance, she had food at the langar (community kitchen) and cleaned utensils of other devotees. Broom in hand, Monica also swept the marbled floor on the periphery of Harmandir Sahib. She then drank 'amrit' from its olive-green pool.

Monica told mediapersons that she visited the holiest of Sikh shrines "to offer thanks so that I can again lead a normal life". She added, "I begged Him to pardon me for my past mistakes."

Gangster Abu Salem and Monica were extradited to India from Portugal in 2005.