A High Court in Auckland of New Zealand has sentenced five years and three months of jail term for Jaspal Singh who is accused of participating in the near-fatal attack on a well-known radio host Harnek Singh. In this attack that took place on the night of December 23, 2020, Harnek Singh was stabbed 40 times in the driveway of his South Auckland home. He was followed by a group of the attackers from the temple to his home.
The attack against Harnek Singh came after he had supported the farm laws passed by the Modi government and criticized the so-called farmers protesting against them. The Auckland High Court has observed religious extremism as the prime reason for the crime. It is notable that pro-Khalistani elements were involved in the so-called farmer protests against the farm laws.
Jaspal Singh (age 41), who had pleaded guilty, owns a business in New Zealand. The prosecution said that the incident was sparked by religious sectarian fervor. Harnek Singh, who was 53 at the time of the attack, is a DJ at Radio Virsa. This is a Radio channel dedicated to discussions around religious and cultural issues within the Sikh community of Auckland.
Harnek Singh was found by a Radio Virsa colleague, slumped in his car’s seat on Glenross Drive, surrounded by a pool of blood and shards of glass. The severity of the attack can be gauged by the fact that dozens of injury scars and stab holes extended up to his arms, across his shoulders, neck, and up to the top of his head.
Defense counsel Ron Mansfield said in the court, “It was religion that had given Jaspal Singh a stable life after dalliances with a crime when he was younger. It was his faith that provided for his rehabilitation. It also helped him serve as a caring husband and father and helped give him the resilience to start his own business, which then led to selfless community work. But sadly, it was the manipulation of that same faith that led his involvement in this very serious offense. He now accepts it wasn’t right and it cannot be justified.”
Justice Geoffrey Venning noted that Harnek Singh had to undergo multiple surgeries as a result of his wounds and still suffers from scarring and ailments to this day. Justice Venning also noted that Harnek Singh’s family felt it necessary to move from their home after the attack and continues to fear for their lives.
Crown prosecutor Luke Radich told Justice Geoffrey Venning, “Had the defendant not accidentally dropped his weapon and had officers not arrived on the scene so soon, the defendant likely would be facing a murder charge. It is in some regards difficult to find a more serious attempted murder than this. He suffered some very, very serious injuries. It’s a matter of good fortune there’s no brain injury or spinal injury.”
Religious extremism blamed for attempted murder of popular radio host https://t.co/Zdl6fk91rw pic.twitter.com/VXsM4orESY
— nzherald (@nzherald) May 26, 2022
The defense described the victim Harnek Singh in court documents as a controversial religious commentator who had been exiled from the Sikh community. Prosecutor Luke Radich objected to this and told the court that Harnek Singh is a progressive member of the religion when compared to more orthodox groups.
Justice Venning observed, “The victim is known throughout New Zealand and internationally for his commentary on Sikh issues and politics in India. The defendant attended a different temple. The impetus for the attack appeared to be religious extremism or political disagreement. There is no place for such attacks in our society. I accept you were not the ringleader or the mastermind behind the plan.”
Justice Venning further ruled, “The accused hadn’t offended for about a decade prior to the attack on the radio host. A minimum non-parole period would not be necessary, in part because of the steps the defendant had taken at rehabilitation prior to the attack.”
It is notable that Harnek Singh was constantly speaking on his radio and YouTube channel against the farmers’ protests. He had appealed to the protesting farmers to withdraw the politically-motivated protests in Delhi. In the last few years, the authorities in New Zealand had heard eight complaints against Singh for comments he had made in the Punjabi language to a caller about the Sikh sect Damdami Taksaal in response to recent violent incidents in India.
