Amarinder Singh condemns mob lynching & Golden Temple sacrilege death; 'No justification'

Following the Golden Temple sacrilege incidents, on December 21 former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh asserted there was 'no justification for mob lynching' and the episode was 'condemnable'. In addition, the issues of people being anguished for denial of justice over Behbal Kalan sacrilege, thus resorting to killings, he mentioned that his government had pursued a probe into the matter from day one. 

Upon being asked about lynchings in Amritsar and Kapurthala, Singh said that the accused should be handed over to the Police as the act was uncivilised. 

"No civilised society can and should approve of such killings," he told ANI. 

'Accused in Durbar Sahib & Kapurthala should have been handed over to police': ex-Punjab CM 

Speaking of denial of justice pertaining to Behbal Kalan sacrilege, he said that the Punjab government had to undergo a prolonged legal battle to attain the case at hand from the Central Bureau of Investigation. He further said that 22 people including police officials were arrested once the enquiry began, however, they are on bail currently. 

Moreover, Singh said that the case registered against Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia will not stand legal scrutiny as the government had not followed due process of law. Condemning the killing of the sacrilege accused in Durbar Sahib and Kapurthala, he said the accused 'should have been handed over to the police'. 

Upon being asked about the registration of an FIR against Majithia, Singh asked on what basis the government has registered the case against him since the report on drug trafficking is pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a sealed cover. 

"After all, there is a law in the country and I am sure it will not stand the legal scrutiny in the court of law," he said while adding, "just because you do not like someone, you cannot put him behind bars".

'National security is utmost priority'

Notably, Singh said that his utmost priority was to maintain law and order in Punjab and national security. Calling out for better coordination between Punjab Police and premier central agencies, Singh warned against those who send weapons to Punjab 'continuously to create trouble'. 

Furthermore, he said that his party- Punjab Lok Congress- and BJP will work together to finalise candidates ahead of general elections and thanked PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support for Punjab. 

Golden temple sacrilege

At 5:45 PM on December 18, an unknown youth attempted sacrilege in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple. Caught on CCTV, the man is seen grabbing the golden sword (kirpan) and trying to grab the holy book before being stopped by SGPC officers. He was seen being dragged out of the shrine and later allegedly thrashed by enraged devotees. The police found no identification on the accused and a postmortem of the body is currently being done to ascertain his identity. An SIT has been constituted to probe the sacrilege.

Kapurthala lynching

On Sunday morning, a man was lynched to death for allegedly attempting to desecrate Shri Guru Granth Sahib in the Nizampur Gurudwara. Locals claimed that the man tried to escape after being caught by the Gurdwara authorities who handed over the alleged accused to Sikh outfits. In the visuals accessed by Republic TV, the alleged accused was seen being tied up and thrashed to death by the officials. 

Later, Jalandhar IG GS Dhillon stated that they had not found any evidence of desecration of Nishan Sahib or the Guru Granth Sahib in Nizampur Gurudwara.