Punjab sacrilege: Man lynched in Ferozepur gurdwara, case filed against him

A case has been registered against a 19-year-old who was beaten to death for allegedly tearing pages of the revered Guru Granth Sahib at a gurdwara in Punjab’s Ferozepur. The alleged sacrilege incident took place in Bandala village.

The teenager, identified as Bakshish Singh, allegedly tore some pages of the holy book after entering the premises of a gurdwara. He was immediately caught by the people and beaten to death.

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As of Sunday morning, there has been no case registered against the mob that killed Bakshish.

An investigation into the matter is underway, while the victim’s body has been sent to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem.

According to the police, the situation escalated when Bakshish attempted to flee after tearing the pages. He was apprehended by locals, who, upon learning of the incident, gathered at the gurdwara and subjected Bakshish to severe thrashing, police said.

Senior police officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police Saumya Mishra, arrived at the scene soon after the incident was reported.

The police have registered an FIR against Bakshish Singh under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code, based on a complaint lodged by Lakhvir Singh, chairman of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee.

Meanwhile, Bakshish’s father, Lakhwinder Singh, said he was mentally ill and was undergoing treatment for it.

Expressing anguish over the police action against his son, Lakhwinder Singh sought action against those responsible for his son’s death.

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has demanded for justice and said “high-profile culprits like Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, convicted for rapes and murders, are not being punished in cases of sacrilege.”

“Where is exemplary justice in large number of sacrilege cases of Sri Guru Granth Sahib or its attempts in Punjab and Haryana? High profile culprits like Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, convicted for rapes and murders, are not being punished in cases of sacrilege even as his name is recorded following recent statement by a co-accused,” it tweeted on Sunday.

“Is it because ruling political class has to serve its interest of vote bank politics? Governments failure to give justice has forced people to take law into their own hands. The community has always respected the law of the land and Constitution.”

(With inputs from PTI.)