Murder probe after autopsy report: SIT
A special investigation team (SIT) looking into the alleged sacrilege bid at the Golden Temple said on Monday that murder proceedings against the killers of the accused man will be done only after autopsy reports.
Separately, Punjab Police said it had not filed murder charges against anyone for the killing of an unidentified person, who was beaten to death in Kapurthala on Sunday for allegedly disrespecting the Sikh flag at a gurdwara. Police also said the man might have been trying to rob the gurdwara and not commit sacrilege.
The SIT, constituted by the state government, registered an FIR on the sacrilege bid under section 295-A (outraging religious sentiments) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code but no charges were filed for the lynching of the man. “Our investigation is going on. We will also consider the post mortem report. After going through both, we will carry out the pending legal proceedings required in this case,” said SIT chief and Amritsar deputy commissioner of police Parminder Singh Bhandal.
Tensions in Punjab flared on Saturday after a 23-year-old man attempted to allegedly commit sacrilege in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, and was lynched shortly afterwards. In videos of the incident, the man could be seen jumping over the railings, picking up a sword and approaching the priest who was reciting evening prayers. The man was caught by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) task force members and beaten to death by angry pilgrims.
A day later, a man, who was believed to be in his 20s and a migrant worker, allegedly disrespected the Nishan Sahib (a Sikh flag) in Kapurthala. Police said the man attempted to flee but was caught by gurdwara volunteers and later brutally thrashed.
But on Monday, police said that there was “no visible sign” of sacrilege in the Kapurthala incident. Kapurthala police senior superintendent of police, Harkamalpreet Sing Khakh, said that police priority was to establish the identity of the victim within 72 hours for conducting a post-mortem examination.
In the Golden Temple incident, the SIT said investigators were proceedings methodically.
“At first step, we registered a case for the sacrilege attempt. We have kept his body for 72 hours and advertised his photo grabbed from a CCTV footage of Sri Darbar Sahib, so that we get any of his kin who can identify him and to whom we could hand over the body,” said Bhandal.
“After that we will go through the post mortem report... We will take further action accordingly,” he added.