Farmers Movement Archive

Tension grips protest site after body found

Inspector General of Police, Rohtak Range, Sandeep Khirwar, said there were several claims and counterclaims with regard to the involvement of a religious group but he could not confirm anything now. “The matter is under investigation,” he said. The victim sustained injuries inflicted with a sharp-edged weapon, he added. Condemning the murder, the SKM said it was against the sacrilege of any religious text or symbol, but no one had the right to take the law into their own hands. It demanded that the culprits be punished in accordance with the law. Although Nihang warriors have frequently been seen around the Singhu main stage area, farm leaders said they had no official role and had never been a part of the meetings or decision-making of the movement. “You must understand that this is not a kisan group. The Nihangs are a religious group, not a farmers’ union. They have a separate camp, and the incident has happened within their own camp,” said All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah. He also warned against attempts to link the murder to the SKM, calling it a “conspiracy”. Farmers and Nihangs at the protest site expressed shock, but there was also a sense of anger over the alleged act of sacrilege committed by the victim. Bhagwant Singh, a Nihang, claimed it was not possible to identify who killed the man as everyone was angry and he was killed in the heat of the moment. Probe sought Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal demanded a fair and impartial probe into all angles of the “heinous crime, including the brutal murder and allegations of sacrilege of the holy Sikh scripture.” “Allegations that the entire sequence of events is a part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to sabotage the peaceful struggle of the farmers against the three black laws also need a fair probe,” he said.

The Hindu

2021-10-16

October 16 2021 00:00 IST