CHANDIGARH: A man was lynched by an angry mob on Saturday evening after an alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, said the police.
Sources said that a man jumped over the railing inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple during the daily Rehras Path (routine evening prayer) and tried to touch the sword kept in front of the placed feet over Rumala Sahib on the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of the sikhs). The police said the man was clean shaven and had tied a pathka (yellow cloth) around his head.
He was nabbed by the on-duty Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) employees. During all this, the priest continued with the recitation of the 'path'.
Sources said that the alleged accused was taken into room inside the Golden Temple premises by the employees of the SGPC where he was beaten up during interrogation and then taken on a wheel chair to the SGPC headquarters.
As one of the TV channels does a live telecast of the evening prayers from the Golden Temple, the vlips of the incident immediately went viral on social media. Soon, the public, including Nihangs (sikh warriors) rushed to the Golden Temple.
Later, more videos were shared showing the body of the alleged accused lying on the floor in the Golden Temple complex.
Demanding a detailed investigation, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said, "the person was killed by angry devotees as it appeares to be a deep rooted conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere and bring disgrace to the Sikh faith."
According to sources, this is second such incident, in the last two days, at the Golden Temple. Earlier, an SGPC employees handed over a man named Ranbir Singh for allegedly throwing handbook of Gurbani (gutka) into the sarovar (holy tank) of the Golden Temple.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Sukhchain Singh Gill said "preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had attempted to commit blasphemy and the public beat him to death."
When the police team reached the spot he was already dead. The dead body has been taken into police custody and taken to Civil Hospital for post mortem. "The police is recording the statements of the eyewitnesses and SGPC employees appropriate action would be taken," he said.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that it is impossible to believe that this could be the act of just one person. "There clearly is a deep rooted conspiracy behind it. Ever since the Mughals, the Masands and the Operation Bluestar, rhe sanctity of the Golden Temple has been made a target.
"This is beyond belief." Badal said that Saturday's development has left the entire Sikh quom in a state of shock.
The former Deputy CM said that there seems to be a "conspiracy to inflict wounds of Sikh minds and to disturb peace and communal harmony in the state."
Badal came down heavily against the state government saying that there were strong indications of such a conspiracy being weaved. "What are the intelligence agencies doing?" asked Badal.
Five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the crime was too reprehensible for words and it has caused deep anguish and outrage in the minds of the Sikh masses all over the world. He said that the whole conspiracy needs to be probed, exposed and those behind it be given exemplary punishment.