A video has surfaced on social media platforms in which a man could be seen getting thrashed by a mob over allegations of involvement in stealing a motorcycle from the premises of Gurudwara Nagiana Sahib, Uchoke Kalan, District Amritsar.
In the video, after being beaten up, he was questioned by the people present at the scene. He identified himself as Vijay from Village Jaito. His associate was identified as Manu, who had escaped. When asked if he had attempted to steal a motorcycle in the past, he said this was his first attempt.
OpIndia tried reaching out to Police but could not connect. It is unclear if he was handed over to the Police or not.
Mob lynching in Punjab
It is noteworthy that several incidents of mob lynching have been reported in recent months in Punjab. Often the victims have been accused of sacrilege but there has been little evidence in such cases to prove the same, hinting at the possibility of personal enmity or an organised conspiracy, or spontaneous acts of violence against unsuspecting victims.
In December, a man was beaten to death when he was caught in a kitchen of Gurudwara premises when he was trying to find some food to eat. 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.
On December 18, a man was lynched to death by the Sikh Sangat (Sikh devotees) in Shri Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara (Golden Temple) in Amritsar over an alleged attempt to disrespect the holiest book of the Sikh religion, Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. As the CCTV footage showed, the young man jumped into the Sanctorum where the holy book was placed. He picked up the kirpan (sword) that was placed next to the holy book. By that time, Sikh Sangat present got into action and grabbed him. Reports suggest the Sangat alleged he was trying to desecrate Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
Months before that, on the intervening night of July 1-2, 2021, an Army staffer, identified as Deepak Kumar, was lynched in a Gurudwara located in a village near Gurdaspur, Punjab. He was lynched for allegedly committing sacrilege against Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Daljit Singh Kashmir alias Bobby was booked as the main accused in the case, among others. Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura, actor-turned-activist and Republic Day riots accused Deep Sidhu, and several others came in support of Daljit Singh and justified the lynching.
