Kapurthala lynching: Gurdwara caretaker arrested shortly after Charanjit Singh Channi says no sacrilege took place

A gurdwara caretaker has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of a man that took place in Kapurthala, Punjab, last Sunday. The accused, Amarjit Singh, was arrested on charges of murder and attempt to murder, besides other offences. The police has said that another 100 unnamed people are listed in the case and Jalandhar Zone IG Gurinder Singh Dhillon said that they would identify rest of the accused from videos and photographs, according to a report in the Times of India. The arrest comes shortly after Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that there was no evidence of sacrilege in the Kapurthala case.

In Kapurthala (killing of a man for alleged sacrilege), no evidence that sacrilege was done. Matter being probed... FIR to be amended: Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi pic.twitter.com/fXOBnpJbwN

— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2021

He also announced that the FIR in the case would be amended accordingly. Addressing a press conference, Channi said, “In Kapurthala, no evidence has been found of sacrilege. The matter is being probed and FIR will be amended.” The man who was killed has not been identified. His body was taken away in a police gypsy and he was cremated by the city’s civic authority. According to the post-mortem report, he was attacked with a sharp weapon and there were 30 deep cuts on his body. Executive Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Narinder Singh had told ANI: “It has been revealed in the post-mortem that he was attacked with a sharp weapon leading to multiple injuries. There are over 30 sharp cut marks on the body, including his neck, head and hip.” “We have taken DNA samples for identification of the body,” he added. Please read: Two lynchings in two days in Punjab: Here's all you need to know In the wee hours of 19 December, the unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by locals at Nizampur in Punjab’s Kapurthala for allegedly disrespecting the ‘Nishan Sahib’ at the village gurdwara. The police had said that early investigations had shown that theere was no visible sign of sacrilege. The day before, a man was beaten to death at the Golden Temple after he jumped into an enclosure where the Granth Sahib, revered by Sikhs as their 11th Guru, is kept. He was seen in a video picking up a golden sword as priests rushed to stop him. As campaigning peaks for state elections early next year, the lynchings in Punjab have caused tension. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is campaigning aggressively for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, has alleged that the killings are an attempt to disturb peace ahead of polls. He has also accused the state’s ruling Congress and Channi of failing to address these incidents and punish those responsible. With inputs from agencies