On 24th January, the police remand of Nihang Singh Ramandeep Mangumath was increased for one week till 31st January. The police arrested Mangumath for killing a young man at Gurdwara Chhevi Patshahi in Bansanwala Bazar on the morning of 16th January. Singh has now been slapped with murder charges. Earlier, he was booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and now Section 302 has been added.
A young man identified as Vishal Kapoor from Delhi was killed by Nihang Ramandeep Mangumath Singh, allegedly over attempted sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. Several Sikh organisations came forward in support of the Nihang Sikh, claiming he killed Kapoor in self-defense.
In a statement, ADGP (Law and Order) Gurinder Singh said that Kapurthala SSP Vatsala Gupta and her team investigated the matter and found no evidence of any attack by the victim. Following the investigation, Mangumath was charged with murder.
Furthermore, the investigating team found that Mangumath and his associates had no religious background. ADGP said, “They are rather imposters donning Nihang’s attire. They are also suspected to be getting funding from unknown foreign sources. For the same reason, we have got his police remand extended by a week from the court. We will probe that angle, too.”
Earlier, it was reported that the accused, Nihang Sikh, uploaded a video of Kapoor before murdering him. After committing the heinous crime, the accused locked himself inside the Chaura Khooh Gurudwara. Senior police officers rushed to the scene when they were informed about the incident and recovered the body of the victim, but he has not been identified yet. In a viral video shared on social media, the victim acknowledged that he was sent to desecrate Gurudwara Shri Choura Khooh Sahib, but he clarified that he did not carry out the act. He is heard saying, “I did not commit sacrilege; I am an honest and hardworking man.”