Punjab: Nihang Sikh murders sacrilege suspect at Phagwara gurdwara
Incident occurred at 3.15am and the police managed to recover the 35-year-old victim’s body from a bathroom on the gurdwara premises at 10.10am; accused arrested
A Nihang Sikh, Ramandeep Singh, murdered an unidentified youngster at Gurdwara Chaura Khooh in Phagwara early on Tuesday on the suspicion that he had committed a sacrilege, police said.
The incident occurred at 3.15am and the police managed to recover the 35-year-old victim’s body from a bathroom on the gurdwara premises at 10.10am. The Nihang Sikh was arrested around 12.15pm.
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The area was cordoned off as Ramandeep Singh locked himself inside the gurdwara after uploading the video of the murder on social media.
Deputy inspector general of police S Bhoopati and Kapurthala senior superintendent of police Vatsala Gupta reached the gurdwara, where members of Sikh organisations gathered in support of Ramandeep Singh.
The accused, who stays on the gurdwara premises, made the video that shows him confronting the youngster on the purpose of his visit late in the night before overpowering and brutally killing him with a sword. The victim had locked himself in the gurdwara bathroom before the Nihang confronted him, asking him if he was sent to commit sacrilege.
Police said they did not have footage of the victim approaching the sanctum sanctorum of the gurdwara and that the Nihang admitted to have acted on the basis of suspicion. They booked him for murder under Section 302 of the IPC.
SSP Gupta said police are still verifying whether the accused had come for committing sacrilege or not. “We got intimation about the incident early in the morning following which the police swung into action. The accused has been arrested, while the process is on for identifying the deceased,” Gupta said.
Sacrilege refers to an act of showing disrespect towards something regarded sacred or holy. This can encompass the violation of religious sites, artefacts, or symbols, or engaging in conduct deemed offensive to a religious community.
