The man who was lynched by a mob at Nizampur village in Kapurthala in Punjab accusing him of blasphemy had gone to the Gurudwara for stealing, police have revealed. According to reports, Punjab Police have denied the sacrilege angle in the case after initial investigation, and revealed that the killed man was a thief who had entered the Gurudwara with the intention of stealing.
Kapurthala SSP Harkamalpreet Khakh said that they didn’t find any attempt of sacrilege at the Gurudwara. He also informed the accused in the case will be booked under murder charges.
SSP Khakh said that the victim was spotted at around 4 AM on Sunday by the Gurudwara manager Amarjit Singh, who alleged that the man was trying to remove the Nishan Sahib, the holy Sikh religious flag. He informed this to two sevadars (volunteers) who work in the Gurudwara and live there, and they caught the man. After that, a crowd gathered at the spot, and the man was thrashed and questioned, and later beaten to death.
The SSP further added that the Guru Granth Sahib is placed at the top floor of the Gurudwara, while the man had entered only the ground floor which has several rooms and where the sevadars live. He informed that the killed man was wearing the jacket of a sevadar at the Gurudwara, and probably he came to steal the jacket only.
Crowd gathered after announcement from Gurudwara, video on social media
Reportedly, after the man was caught, there was an announcement from the Gurudwara asking people to gather in large numbers. “Police and any other agency should not interfere. Punjab Police and state government are equally responsible for the sacrilege cases,” the announcement reportedly said.
Moreover, the video of the captured man was already uploaded on social media, and as a result of this and the announcement, a large number of people gathered at the mosque. SSP Harkamalpreet Khakh said that the police tried to explain to the public that there has been no attempt of sacrilege of the Swarup of the Guru Granth Sahib, but the mob didn’t listen to them.
It is notable after the man was captured, police had arrived at the Gurudwara, and had taken the man in custody. But by that time the crowd had also gathered, and they didn’t let the police take away the man. The cops were outnumbered by the mob, who then proceeded to beat the man to death, presumably in the presence of the police. After that, the police took way the body of the victim and sent the same for post mortem examination.
In the meanwhile, Punjab Police have warned against violating communal harmony after the two mob lynching cases over alleged sacrilege. DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya tweeted, “I have taken serious note of the unfortunate incidents in Amritsar and Kapurthala. Any attempt to violate the communal harmony in the state will be dealt with a firm hand. Stern action will be taken against all those disturbing the law and order in Punjab.”
Stolen ID card fou nd on victim
The SSP further said that the man had already stolen some items from the house of a woman before coming to the Gurudwara. They found an ID card around his neck, which is an old ID card of the child of the woman, and he was wearing the same.
