2023 lynching case accused alleges torture, dies by suicide

Lokesh Singla, accused Bajrang Dal members of harassment and mental torture in A video recorded before the suicide

A self-proclaimed cow vigilante and one of the accused in the 2023 Bhiwani lynching case, died by suicide on July 5 after allegedly jumping in front of a train near Palwal on the Delhi-Agra rail route, police said on Tuesday.

Despite HT’s queries, Bajrang Dal did not comment on the allegations. But an active member of the group termed the allegations as “baseless”. (File photo)

His death triggered a fresh controversy after a video purportedly recorded before the suicide surfaced, in which the man, Lokesh Singla, accused senior Bajrang Dal members of harassment and mental torture.

The purported video, veracity of which could not be independently verified by HT, went viral shortly after his death, and was allegedly sent via WhatsApp to his wife, Damyanti.

In it, Singla claims he was being followed, threatened, and blackmailed by three individuals—identified as Bharat Bhushan, Anil, and Harkesh Yadav, all residents of Hathin in Haryana’s Palwal district.

“I, Lokesh Singla, resident of village Bichhor and presently living in Hodal, am harassed with threats by three people. They send goons to follow me and want to trap me in false cases. I appeal for strict police action against them,” Singla is heard saying in the video.

“My husband was a social worker and the father of three minor children. These men stalked him, threatened him, and made his life miserable. He was mentally broken and scared of being falsely implicated,” Damyanti stated in her complaint.

Rajesh Chechi, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of Government Railway Police (Faridabad), confirmed that the men named in the suicide note and video are under investigation. “Preliminary findings suggest prolonged mental harassment. We are verifying the claims and examining all angles,” Chechi said, adding that the body was handed over to the family after a postmortem.

Despite HT’s queries, Bajrang Dal did not comment on the allegations. But an active member of the group termed the allegations as “baseless”. “We had no involvement in his death. A video or a handwritten note cannot, by itself, be considered definitive proof of harassment. There must be clear facts and verifiable evidence to support such serious claims,” the person said, on condition of anonymity.

Singla had been named in the February 2023 Bhiwani lynching, where two men from Rajasthan—Nasir and Junaid—were abducted, allegedly assaulted by cow vigilantes, and found dead in a burnt vehicle in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on February 16, 2023. According to police, they were allegedly kidnapped and subsequently killed by cow vigilantes affiliated with the Bajrang Dal in Haryana. The gruesome incident sparked outrage and renewed focus on violent networks operating in northern India.

Investigators who asked not to be identified said that Singla’s suicide has added a disturbing new layer to the case, pointing to alleged infighting within cow vigilante groups and potential misuse of influence by some members. Investigators said they are also examining whether the pressure Singla faced was linked to the lynching case or an unrelated conflict.