In a shocking revelation to the Punjab sacrilege incidents, a report published by The New Indian said that the caretaker of Kapurthala Gurudwara, where a mob had beaten up a man to death, had shady antecedents.
According to the report, caretaker Amarjit Singh frequently visited Pakistan and had worked as a pro-Khalistani ultra before turning into a CAT commando. CAT refers to pro-Khalistani terrorists in the early 90s who had switched sides and had become police informers for under-cover operations.
The New Indian report says Singh was in touch with a top Punjab police official, who had managed to remain in plum postings during SAD and Congress governments. As per police, at least three contacts were established between Amarjit and the top police officer on the day of the lynching as Kapurthala comes under the Jalandhar zone.
However, the Punjab police haven’t been successful in establishing the links between the phone calls between Amarjit and the top police officer and the lynching that took place in Kapurthala.
“We have gone through his passport records. We are also checking his phone records. The probe has found that he was in touch with one of our police officers. Besides, he had gone to Pakistan. During the investigation, Amarjit also revealed that he worked as a CAT commando and was in touch with some police officers,” The New Indian quoted a senior police officer as saying.
Reportedly, Kapurthala police detected a pattern in the way in which the “live video” of the lynching of the man was made to appear suspicious. It is now planning to file a murder case after doubts are raised over claims of sacrilege.
In addition to this, the police have also seized Amarjit’s mobile phone to verify his claims of sacrilege. A complaint was filed by him, based on which the police had filed an FIR under charges of 295A (defiling a place of religious worship). The FIR said the migrant labourer had tried to disrespect the Nishan Sahib flag, a symbol at his gurdwara in Nizampur village on Sunday.
The police have alleged that Amarjit’s claims don’t add up. A police officer quoted by The New Indian revealed that when they reached the spot of the crime when the mob had gheraoed him. The mob was carrying 3.5-feet-tall swords and weapons. The mob had then refused to negotiate with the police. Had Amarjit or others around him informed the police in time, the officer said, the man could have been booked for sacrilege and his life could have been saved. He, however, added that there was no evidence to support the claim that any sacrilege took place.
Kapurthala sacrilege victim was hungry, was looking for some food at Gurudwara
The Kapurthala ‘sacrilege’ case took a completely different turn compared to what the Granthi at Nizampur Gurudwara had claimed. According to multiple reports, the Police have mentioned that the deceased was spotted by one of the sewadar (volunteer) in the kitchen located on the ground floor eating chapatis. Notably, only the sewadar and Granthi live on the ground floor of the said Gurudwara, and Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is on the upper floor.
The reports suggest that when the sewadar spotted the man, he tried to escape and was eventually apprehended by the sewadars. The man, who was in his twenties, was kept in a room on Gurudwara premises. The Police were not allowed to take him. He was beaten to death by the angry crowd. It is noteworthy that Police also added that the deceased had eight deep cuts on his body that were made by a sharp weapon like a sword. The badly thrashed man was rushed to the hospital by the Police, where he was declared dead.
It is notable here that some policemen were also present when the victim was being beaten to death. During the presser, the police had confirmed that some policemen had attempted to rescue the victim but they were prevented from doing so by the mob and since it was a violent atmosphere, they showed ‘restraint’ and did not aggravate the situation further. Hindi daily Bhaskar had reported that some policemen had received injuries while trying to control the violent crowd.
