A man was beaten to death in Kapurthala on Sunday after being accused of sacrilege at a gurdwara, the second such lynching in the state in 24 hours as Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi suggested that they might be linked to the upcoming elections.
Channi visited Amritsar’s Golden Temple, the scene of the first incident on Saturday, and claimed that some “inimical forces or agencies” may be at work ahead of the assembly polls early next year. He appealed for calm and harmony.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been asked to submit its report in the Amritsar case in two days. Police in Kapurthala said there was “no visible sign” of any sacrilege at the gurdwara in Nizampur village on Kapurthala-Subhnapur road.
Three of their men were injured when they tried to save the victim, who they said appeared to be a migrant worker, from the mob. Kapurthala gurdwara manager Amarjit Singh claimed seeing the man disrespecting the “nishan sahib” (religious flag) at the gurdwara.
However, according to police, the unidentified man was eating chapattis in the kitchen located on the ground floor of the gurdwara complex. But he ran away when spotted by some “sewadars”, who then gave chase.
In the first case too, police are yet to identify the man who jumped over the rails on Saturday evening in the Golden Temple sanctum sanctorum and allegedly picked up the ceremonial sword. Police have registered FIRs over the alleged sacrilege attempts in both cases. Police also registered a case against the unidentified man late on Saturday night under IPC Sections. Police Commissioner Sukhchain Singh Gill said.
