Two Lynchings In A Day: Now, Man Killed For ‘Desecrating’ Sikh Religious Flag In Punjab’s Kapurthala

Hours after a man was beaten to death by sevadars at the Golden Temple in Punjab’s Amritsar, on accusations of “be-adabi”, another man was beaten up in another district of Punjab for similar reasons.

As per various reports, the man has died of the wounds.

On 18 December around 5:30 pm, a man, in the Golden Temple, which is also known as Harmandir Sahib, was captured on video jumping off grills separating devotees from the Granthis.

He seemed to pick up a diamond-encrusted sword placed. He was whisked away by sevadars present there. Soon, videos emerged of his body lying on the ground, with Sikhs standing around him congratulating each other.

It later emerged that a crowd had beaten the man to death within the Golden Temple complex.

The same night in the wee hours, a man reportedly tried to enter a gurudwara in Nizampur village in Punjab’s Kapurthala district, which is around 50 kilometres from Amritsar.

The man was caught by a sevadar with accusations that he was trying to ‘desecrate’ Nishan Sahib – the Sikh holy flag.

As per reports, police reached the spot and tried to take the man into their custody. However, angry villagers beat up the man to death.

Videos have emerged of the man being brutally beaten up with sticks while he pleads for his life.

As per a report by India Today, sevadars at the gurudwara made an announcement from the premises, appealing residents to gather at the spot.

“Police and any other agency should not interfere. Punjab Police and state government are equally responsible for the sacrilege cases," the announcement said, as per the report.

Both the deceased have not been publicly identified by the police yet.

It pertinent to mention that at least five other people have been killed over accusations of ‘sacrilege‘ of Sikh holy texts and symbols since 2016.

In July 2016, a Dalit woman named Balwinder Kaur from Ludhiana was killed by members of a radical Sikh outfit. The woman was out on bail after spending about two months in jail over accusations that she tore pages from a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib kept at a gurudwara in her village.

Two months later, another woman, also named Balwinder Kaur, was killed by her husband, who confessed that her act of ’sacrilege’ had left him angry.

In June 2019, a man named Mohinder Pal Bittu was murdered in the high-security Nabha prison by two fellow prisoners, who confessed to the police that they killed him for ‘disrespecting’ a Sikh holy book.

Bittu had been in jail since 2015 in a case of disrespect to a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab’s Bargari.

In 2020, father of a man accused of ‘desecrating’ a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib was shot dead in Bhagta Bhaika town of Punjab’s Bathinda district.

In October 2021, a Dalit man named Lakhbir Singh, who belonged to a village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, was dismembered and killed by Nihang Sikhs at the farmer protest site on Singhu border connecting New Delhi and Haryana.