Farmers Movement Archive

Three Nihangs sent on six-day police custody

Rohtak: Three members of the Sikh Nihang order, arrested in connection to a lynching of a Dalit labourer at a farmers’ protest site, were on Sunday sent to six days of police custody, even as Haryana police constituted two special investigation teams to probe the incident. On October 15, the body of Lakhbir Singh (35), a Dalit farm labourer from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, was found tied to a police barricade near the Singhu farm protest site on the outskirts of the capital with his left hand and right foot cut off. Nihangs, a Sikh order distinguished by blue robes and swords, alleged the man desecrated Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, even as the victim’s family questioned the attackers’ claim that he committed sacrilege and demanded a high-level probe. So far, four people, claiming to be members of the Nihang order, have been arrested in connection with the gruesome killing. Hours after Lakhbir Singh’s body was found, Sarabjeet Singh, a resident of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, claimed that he had “punished” Lakhbir Singh for the “desecration”. He was arrested and sent to seven days in police custody. The next day, three other Nihangs – Narain Singh, Govindpreet Singh and Bhagwant Singh – surrendered before Sonipat police in connection with the lynching. The three accused were produced before a court in Sonepat.All three confessed to their crime before the court. “They claimed that only four people were involved in this case,” said Virender Rao, Sonepat deputy superintendent of police (headquarters).“Inside the court, the accused folded their hands and confessed to their crime. Narain Singh once again claimed that he hit the labourer’s leg thrice with his sword and cut his foot, while Sarabjeet Singh cut his hand. They also admitted that four members of the Nihang order were involved in the killing,” said a police official who had accompanied the accused to the court. He declined to be named.Meanwhile, at Kundli border, Baba Raja Ram, another Nihang, said Lakhbir Singh was killed for desecrating Guru Granth Sahib. “ Where is law and order? No justice system has given strict punishment to the accused involved in sacrilege cases since 2015. There is nothing above the Granth Sahib for Sikhs. The Indian justice system has failed in giving justice to Sikhs since 2015 in more than 400 cases of sacrilege,” he said. “Our four people have surrendered before police and police should refrain from implicating any other person in the case. If police try to arrest any member of our community, we will protest against them, and they will have to face dire consequences. Police should investigate the sacrilege case as the labourer had disrespected the holy book.”

Hindustan Times

18-10-2021

India