Singhu Seema Murder: 4 Nihangs surrender before police
Singhu border lynching case: Two more people from the Nihang community – Bhagwant Singh and Govind Singh – surrendered to the Haryana Police on Saturday in connection with the brutal murder of Lakhbir Singh, a Dalit Sikh at a farmers’ protest site in Singhu, while the victim’s family interrogated the attackers. ’ claims that he had committed sacrilege and demanded a high-level inquiry into the episode. With this, a total of 4 people have been arrested in this case.
Earlier in the day, Nihang Sikh Sarabjit Singh was produced in a court in Sonipat, from where he was remanded to seven-day police custody. Singh had surrendered before the police on Friday and claimed responsibility for the brutal murder of Lakhbir Singh.
Police said hours later, Narayan Singh, who is also a Nihang, was arrested by the Amritsar Rural Police from Amarkot village near Jandiala Guru in Amritsar district.
However, Narayan Singh claimed that he had informed the police that he was surrendering. Speaking to the media before his arrest, Narayan Singh had no remorse and said that Lakhbir Singh was “punished for the humiliation”.
He said that the accused in the Bargari sacrilege incident in Punjab are yet to be arrested, but now if anyone commits such a heinous crime, he will be punished on the spot.
Before his arrest, some people gave a robe of honor and a garland of notes to Narayan Singh after paying obeisance at the Amarkot gurudwara.
According to the police, Sarabjit Singh has claimed involvement of a few more people in the gruesome murder, sparking outrage and demanding action to vacate the protest sites on the borders of Delhi, where farmers camped since last November. are inserted. Repeal of three agricultural laws of the Centre.
Lakhbir Singh’s body was cremated at his native village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran amid tight security in the presence of his close family members. There was no Sikh priest present to perform the Ardas (Sikh religious prayer) and no one from his village Cheema Kalan attended the last rites.
Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and senior BJP leader Ratan Lal Kataria said that the United Kisan Morcha, which is leading the farmers’ agitation, cannot escape responsibility for what happened at their protest site.
“It was a barbaric crime. Police is already probing the matter… but 40 leaders (SKM leaders) cannot escape their responsibility,” said Dushyant Chautala, leader of JJP, an alliance partner of the ruling BJP in Haryana.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman Vijay Sampla said that the protesting farmers cannot turn their back on such incidents.
After meeting about 15 Dalit organizations who submitted a memorandum demanding strict action against the culprits, he said, “Their role is similar to that of criminals.
Sampla has also sought a report from the Haryana Police on the incident.
However, the SKM had issued a statement on Friday dissociating itself from the incident and said it wanted to make it clear that “both sides of the incident”, the Nihang group and the victim, have nothing to do with the Morcha.
Farmers’ union leaders on Saturday asserted that the incident would have no bearing on the agitation and added that they would enhance security by installing CCTV cameras and increasing the number of volunteers at the protest sites.
Lakhbir Singh’s body was found on Friday tied to a barricade at the Singhu border, with his hand amputated and multiple wounds sustained by sharp-edged weapons.
Hours after the crime, Sarabjit Singh, wearing the blue robes of the Nihang order, claimed that he had “punished” the victim for “desecrating” a Sikh holy book.
Questioning his claim, the victim’s wife Jaspreet Kaur and sister Raj Kaur said that Lakhbir Singh had “deep respect for the holy Guru Granth Sahib”.
Jaspreet Kaur said, “He was a God-fearing man who could never think of desecrating a holy book. Whenever he used to visit a gurudwara, he would for the betterment of his family and society. prayed for.”
Read also: Killing at Singhu border ‘unfortunate’, will not affect farmers’ protest: Rakesh Tikait
The victim’s family stated that he had no criminal record and there were no reports of his bad character, and demanded a high-level inquiry into the entire episode to bring out the truth.
When asked why Lakhbir Singhu had gone to the border, Raj Kaur said, “Maybe someone has offered him more money (for labour)”.
His wife Jaspreet Kaur and three daughters aged 12, 11 and eight live in a small temporary house made of mud and bricks in village Cheema.
Kalan, about 50 km from the holy city of Amritsar. His son had passed away two years ago.
When Lakhbir was alive, the family could hardly afford two meals a day and worked for their livelihood in the village fields or in the grain market in Tarn Taran district.
His sister Raj Kaur lamented, “Now who will come forward to look after their family and what will happen to their children’s future… who will help them.”
Sonipat Deputy Superintendent of Police Virender Singh said the total number of accused in the crime could be more than five.
“We produced Sarabjit in the court. The court has sent the accused to police custody for seven days.
“The accused has pointed to the involvement of four more people in the case and named them…we are investigating further in this regard. We have to make some recovery from the arrested accused, which includes the weapon used in the crime and the clothes he was wearing.
Earlier on Friday, in a video clip that surfaced on social media, some Nihangs were seen standing near the victim’s head with his severed left hand. The group was heard accusing them of insulting a Sikh holy book.
In connection with the incident of lynching, a case of murder has been registered at Kundli police station in Sonipat.
Political parties across the board have condemned the incident and demanded a thorough investigation.
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa demanded a probe by a sitting judge to find out the “real cause” of the incident and alleged that it was an attempt to sabotage the farmers’ agitation.
The Congress leader, who also holds the Home portfolio, said in an official statement, “This is a very sensitive issue, which is related to the religious beliefs of the people and is related to the farmers who have been protesting peacefully for almost a year. Were were year against the harsh agricultural laws of the central government”.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday said the incident was extremely sad and shameful and demanded compensation to the victim’s family.
“The brutal murder of a Dalit youth from Punjab at Delhi’s Singhu border is extremely sad and shameful. Police should take the incident seriously and take strict action against the accused persons.
In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “BSP demands that the Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab should be given financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh and a government job to the victim’s family, as was done in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.”
The Congress had said that it is the responsibility of the government to check the lynchings, while the BJP said that the farmers are being used by the anarchic elements for their politics.
The saffron party hit out at the opposition party for not raising the issue in the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia questioned whether the opposition party stood behind the murder with a “Talibani mindset”.
“For the sake of poor vote bank politics and shoddy politics, the opposition parties, especially the Congress, will keep silence on this important issue.
Bhatia attacked BKU leader Rakesh Tikait for his alleged remarks, saying, “They will not dare to call a spade a spade as it does not suit their political narrative.” The organizers cannot be blamed for such an event.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is leading the charge in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, said on Saturday that more cameras would be installed and the deployment of volunteers at the protest site would be changed. Friday event.
BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said, “It has now been decided that such volunteers will be deployed only at the protest sites by the SKM.
He said that it was also decided that the groups or individuals who are participating in the movement but having a different ideology from the policies of the SKM, will be asked to vacate the protest sites or adopt the agenda of the farmers’ group.
BKU (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal alleged that the incident was a ploy to divert attention from the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
“They pick up one or two incidents and say you are getting violent. We are not getting violent. We have been peaceful all the time.
Farmer leader Kavita Kuruganti said, “It is the government’s strategy that such incidents will weaken the movement, eventually it will disintegrate, but it is not going to happen. We will only be strong. Our core value is non-violence.” Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch said.
(with PTI input)
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