NEW DELHI – A day after a man was tortured to death for committing a sacrilegious act at the Sikh holiest shrine, another dastardly incident occurred in Kapurthala, a city in Indian Punjab, where a man was killed by the angry mob over a desecration attempt.
Reports in Indian media said that an unidentified man was brutally killed over an alleged sacrilege attempt on the Sikh flag at a gurdwara at Nijampur village in Kapurthala.
The initial probe revealed that no blasphemy was committed and the case could be that of theft. Reports quoting police said it appeared that the deceased was trying to steal food and there was no ‘evidence of sacrilege’ having been committed.
It all started when the manager of the gurdwara got suspicious about a man who tried to flee after getting noticed. He was then caught by two co-workers of the temple and was smacked.
Following the commotion, a number of people flocked at the site the man was lynched in no time. Investigators are still in the process of identifying the victim with the help of DNA samples. He reportedly suffered sharp injuries in his upper body and head.
Meanwhile, local cops have booked the deceased man under Section 307 [attempt to murder] of IPC as ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ is believed to be a living entity. Officials also added section 295-A of the IPC which includes deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
The tragic incident occurred days after a man was tortured to death in Golden Temple, a gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, after a ‘sacrilegious’ attempt to interrupt prayers which was captured during the live broadcast.
The man, donned in blue and a yellow turban, jumped over a railing into the Golden Temple’s inner sanctum in the city of Amritsar.
In the footage, he can be spotted grabbing a sword kept in front of the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib. Worshippers shortly drag him back over the railing and out of the inner sanctum.
In the other clips, the man with his hands tied behind his back can be seen beaten to death. He was reportedly died on the spot as no one came to guard him.
Officials also launched a probe to find out the ‘underlying motive and real conspirators behind the dastardly act while more than 72 hours have passed over lynching but police are yet to identify the man, let alone file a case on the killing.
With the second incident, two men were beaten to death in Indian Punjab within 24 hours over alleged sacrilege attempts.
The heart-wrenching incidents also sparked tension in the poll-bound state, where a series of sacrilege incidents surfaced as a key issue in the run-up to the last Assembly election.
The desecration of the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism is a highly emotive issue among the Sikhs as multiple desecrations took place in 2014 and 2015, and it became a major political issue during Punjab’s elections in 2017 and 2019.
India’s first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards in 1984 after Congress leader ordered an army assault on the Golden Temple. The incident sparked bloody devastation in the Indian capital which left nearly 3,000 Sikhs dead.
