Kapurthala: Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stated that there is no evidence of sacrilege in the Kapurthala Mob Lynching, and a murder case will be filed soon. On Sunday, a man accused of trying to remove the Nishan Sahib (Sikh flag) at a gurdwara in Kapurthala was chased and beaten to death by a mob in the presence of the police.
Videos of a group attacking the man went viral.
The incident took place a day after another man was beaten to death at the Golden Temple in Amritsar after an alleged sacrilege attempt.
The Chief Minister today ruled out sacrilege in the second incident.
“We did not find any sacrilege attempt or any evidence to back it. One person ran the Gurdwara. This thing has moved to murder and the inquiry is on. The FIR (already registered in the case) will be amended,” Mr Channi told reporters.
The police had also said the incident appeared to be a case of theft and that there were “no visible signs of a sacrilege attempt.”
The deceased has not been identified yet. His body was taken away in a police gypsy and he was cremated by the city’s civic authority.
As per the post-mortem report, the deceased was attacked with a sharp weapon, and there were 30 deep cuts on his body.
Initial reports had claimed that this was a second case involving sacrilege in a matter of 48 hours in poll-bound Punjab.
The day before, a man was beaten to death at the Golden Temple after he jumped into an enclosure where the Granth Sahib, revered by Sikhs as their 11th Guru, is kept. He was seen in a video picking up a golden sword as priests rushed to stop him.
As campaigning peaks for state elections early next year, the lynchings in Punjab have caused tension as sacrilege has been an emotive issue in the state.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is campaigning aggressively for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, has alleged that the killings are an attempt to disturb peace ahead of polls. He has also accused the state’s ruling Congress and Mr Channi of failing to address these incidents and punish those responsible.
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