Almost a week after a man was lynched in a Gurudwara in Punjab accusing him of disrespecting the Sikh holy flag Nishan Sahib, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today admitted that there was no evidence of a sacrilege found in the case. A Sikh mob as Nizampur Gurudwara in Kapurthala had lynched a youth in the early morning on December 19, despite the presence of police. CM Channi also informed that the incident was being probed and FIR registered in the case was to be amended after the latest finding.
In Kapurthala (killing of a man for alleged sacrilege), no evidence that sacrilege was done. Matter being probed… FIR to be amended: Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi pic.twitter.com/fXOBnpJbwN
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2021
The FIR will be amended because the police had filed the FIR against the dead man accusing him of sacrilege, and no FIR was filed against the killers. Even though the police had said that they will file murder charges, they had taken a U-turn after the political leadership raised the sacrilege issue and ignored two lynchings over the alleged sacrilege that took place in Punjab on two consecutive days.
Immediately after the CM said that there was no evidence of sacrilege and the case will be treated as a murder case, the main accused and the in-charge of the Gurdwara Nijampur Mod, Amarjit Singh has been arrested by the police. Along with that, 100 people have been booked in the case.
BIG :PunjabPolice arrest Amarjit, Gurudwara caretaker who had claimed sacrilege in Kapurthala. pic.twitter.com/YhDp4OFGhL
— Live Adalat (@AdalatLive) December 24, 2021
Amarjit Singh had led a mob that killed the man at the gurdwara, who was later found to be a mentally unstable person who had entered the Gurudwara to pick up some food. IG GS Dhillon confirmed the arrest, and said, “We have registered a case of murder against 100 people to set an example that lynching cannot be allowed.”
SSP Kapurthala, HPS Khakh had also stated that the in-charge of the Gurdwara Nijampur Mod, Kapurthala and the unidentified crowd involved in the lynching of the youth was to be booked for murder. He informed that there was no evidence of sacrilege and that the victim was still not unidentified.
#Breaking: Incharge of the Gurdwara Nijampur Mod, Kapurthala Amarjit Singh and unidentified crowd to be booked for murder. No evidence of sacrilege. Victim still unidentified: SSP Kapurthala, HPS Khakh.#Punjab
— Chitleen K Sethi (@ChitleenKSethi) December 24, 2021
During the early hours of December 19, a youth was caught and lynched following alleged sacrilege charges at a village in Kapurthala. The incident occurred at a Gurdwara in Nizampur village of Punjab’s Kapurthala district. Gurdwara caretaker Amarjit Singh had claimed that he saw a youth desecrating the Sikh holy flag Nishan Sahib during the early hours of Sunday.
