Another man was beaten to death by mob in Punjab’s Kapurthala over a sacrilege attempt, hours after such an incident came to light in Amritsar. Victims from both the incidents have died.
Videos from the scene of the crime in Kapurthula shows an angry crowd with many of them seen brandishing swords.
According to reports, residents of Nijampur village in Kapurthala district allegedly apprehended the man early this morning from a gurdwara. They claimed he was seen “disrespecting” the Nishan Sahib (Sikh flag) around 4 am.
Despite the fact that a police team arrived and took the man into custody, Sikh groups insisted that he be questioned in front of them. After a fight with the police, the man was killed by the locals, reports added.
A man hailing from Uttar Pradesh was beaten to death after he allegedly attempted to commit “sacrilege” inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday evening. The incident drew sharp reactions from political leaders, with Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi ordering a probe into it.
The incident took place when the man jumped golden grills inside the sanctum sanctorum, picked a sword and reached near the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib. The man was caught by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) task force members. When he was being taken to the SGPC office, angry crowd thrashed him badly that later led to his death.
Deputy Commissioner of Police P S Bhandal said the man, hailing from UP, could be around 25 to 30 years of age and his antecedents are being verified. All CCTV cameras are being checked to know when he entered the Golden Temple and how many people were with him. After the incident, a large number of Sikh devotees and various Sikh outfits slammed the SGPC for its laxity.
A heavy police force has been deployed around the SGPC complex at Teja Singh Samundri Hall to maintain law and order. Several political leaders condemned the alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple.
Akali stalwart and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal described it as a “heinous attempt”, which was “deeply shocking and exceedingly painful”. Badal said the crime was too reprehensible for words and it has caused “deep anguish and outrage in the minds of the Sikh masses all over the world”.
Badal said it was unbelievable that “such a painful and brazen crime could be committed at the holiest shrine of humanity” by a single individual, adding that the possibility of a deep-rooted conspiracy behind it cannot be ruled out. He said the whole “conspiracy” needs to be probed, exposed and those behind it be given exemplary punishment.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too condemned the incident and said the culprit should be strictly punished. “Everybody is in shock. This could be a big conspiracy. The culprits should get the harshest punishment,” said Kejriwal in a tweet. Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed shock and disbelief at the incident.
In a statement here, Sukhbir Badal said it is impossible to believe that this could be the act of just one person. “There is clearly a deep-rooted conspiracy behind it,” he said. The former deputy CM said there seems to be a conspiracy to “disturb peace and communal harmony in the state”.
He criticised the state government, saying that there were strong indications of such a conspiracy was being hatched. “Only the other day, there was a shocking incident of gutka sahib’ (holy book) being thrown into the holy sarovar’. After that, the state agencies could not have been unaware of a deep-rooted conspiracy that led to today’s shocking sequence of events,” he said.
“But no one did anything nor took any steps to prevent such a heinous crime from happening. What are the intelligence agencies doing,” he asked. BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also condemned the incident and asked the Punjab government to unearth the conspiracy behind it.
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