Farmers Movement Archive

Singhu border lynching: Haryana Police record statements of victim’s kin in Tarn Taran

A team of the Haryana Police visited Cheema Kalan village in Tarn Taran on Friday to record the statements of the family members of Lakhbir Singh, who was brutally murdered by Nihangs at the Singhu border on October 15. The team, led by inspector Sikandar Singh, took a written statement of Lakhbir’s sister Raj Kaur, who told the police that she came to know about her brother’s death on October 16. Kaur, who had alleged that her brother was allured by some unknown persons and taken to Singhu, stated that she was not aware about who accompanied him.On Wednesday, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota had formed a special investigation team (SIT) for a “thorough and expeditious” inquiry into the matter. The team includes Varinder Kumar, additional director general of police (ADGP)-cum-director, Bureau of Investigating (BOI); Ferozepur deputy inspector general (DIG) Inderbir Singh and Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harwinder Singh Virak. None of the team members had so far reached the village, but were expected to visit on Sunday, said police sources.Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over how Lakhbir reached the Singhu border. “We heard that one of the accused, Sarabjit Singh, who had surrendered after the murder, was seen in a village cowshed some days before the incident. But there is no evidence,” said Lakhbir’s brother-in-law Sukhchain Singh. Raj Kaur, however, said her brother was never in contact with any Nihang. Dilbagh Singh, head of the Dhan Dhan Baba Sheikh Brahm Peer Ji Gaushala, said, “A police team had visited us on Wednesday and collected the CCTV footage. We have nothing to do with Sarabjit. It is just a rumour being spread by a local political leader to malign our image.”Village sarpanch Awan Kumar Sonu Cheema said he didn’t know anything about Sarabjit’s movement in the village before the incident. SSP Virak refused to comment until the investigation was completed.

Hindustan Times

23-10-2021

Chandigarh