SKM distances itself from Gruesome incident
By A correspondent / New Delhi
The Bharatiya Janta Party BJP today blamed farmer leader Rakesh Tikait after a man was found murdered near a protest site at the Singhu border in Haryana.
Party’s IT cell incharge Amit Malviya said, “Had Rakesh Tikait not justified mob lynching in Lakhimpur, with Yogendra Yadav, sitting next to him, maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at the Kundali border would not have happened.”
“Anarchists behind these protests in the name of famers need to be exposed,” Malviya added.
Tikait had earlier said that the lynching of the BJP workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri was a “reaction to the action”.
Meanwhile Condemning the gruesome murder, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, of which Tikait and his organisation (the BKU) is also a part, said the “peaceful and democratic movement is opposed to violence in any form”.
Distancing itself from the incident, the SKM said “it had no relation either with the Nihang group or the deceased person”.
“The SKM is against sacrilege of any religious text or symbol, but that does not give anyone the right to take law into their own hands,” it added.
“We demand that the culprits be punished according to law after investigating the allegation of murder and conspiracy behind the sacrilege. As always, Samyukt Kisan Morcha will cooperate with the police and administration in any lawful action,” says a statement by SKM leaders.
“A Nihang group at the scene has claimed responsibility, saying the incident took place because of the deceased’s attempt to commit sacrilege. It has been reported that the deceased was staying with the same group of Nihangs for some time,” they claimed.
The semi-naked body of a man with his left wrist chopped was found hanging from a police barricade near the main stage of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) at Singhu border on Friday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Lakhbeer Singh, 35, of Cheema Khurd village, Tarn Taran, in Punjab.
Hours after the macabre crime, a man wearing the blue robes of the Sikhs’ Nihang order, appeared before the media, claiming that he had “punished” the victim for “desecrating” a holy book.
Earlier, in a video clip that surfaced on social media, some Nihangs are seen standing around the injured man with his severed left hand close to his head. The group is heard accusing him of desecrating a Sikh holy book.
It was alleged that Nihang Sikhs beat up the man allegedly for desecrating a holy book. The assailants chopped off his left wrist.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media.
In a video, some people were seen at the spot and the man was lying in a pool of blood on the ground and his eyes full of shock and pain. They were heard asking about his name and other details.
Hundreds of protesting farmers gathered at the spot. Inspector Ravi Kumar, SHO, Kundli, along with a team, reached the spot.