Punjab: Mentally challenged youth beaten to death over 'sacrilege'
A 19-year-old man was beaten to death for allegedly tearing pages from the Guru Granth Sahib at a gurdwara in Ferozepur, Punjab. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhwinder Singh, an angry crowd lynched Bakshish Singh to death after he committed the alleged sacrilege at Gurdwara Baba Bir Singh in Bandala. As of Sunday morning, no case had been filed against the mob.
Bakshish was mentally challenged: Father
However, the police have filed an FIR against Bakshish for the alleged sacrilege. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Lakhbir Singh, chairman of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee. Bakshish's father, Lakhwinder Singh, said his son was mentally challenged and was undergoing treatment for it. He called on the police to register a case against those who killed his son.
We handed him to police, don't know what later: Lakhbir
"He tore the pages of Guru Granth Sahib and came out with torn pages. Some persons sitting in the Langar Hall spotted him. He was chanting 'Prabhu ehnan ton mainu bachao' (God, save me from them). We later handed over him to police," Lakhvir said. "We had handed over him to police alive. We don't know what happened to him later," he added.
Video of incident surfaces
A video of the incident showed a number of men surrounding Bakshish, who sat bleeding with his wrists tied. The cops eventually transported him to a private hospital, but he was already dead. According to the authorities, the situation worsened when Bakshish tried to flee after tearing the pages. The situation is now under control, DSP Singh said.
