NEW DELHI: Asserting that there is no place for violence anywhere, the Congress on Friday said it is the government's responsibility to investigate the incident in which the body of a man has been found near a farmers' protest site in Haryana, and that the law should take its course.
The body of the man with one of his hands chopped off was found tied to a metal barricade near at Kundli in Haryana's Sonipat district on Friday, police said.
In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, some Nihangs are seen standing as the man lies on the ground in a pool of blood with his chopped off left hand lying next to him.
Asked about the incident, Congress spokesperson, Pawan Khera said, "We saw it on social media, don't know the details yet. There is no place at all whatsoever for violence anywhere in the country."
"This country is and must be governed by the rule of law. It is the government's responsibility to get deep into this, investigate and let the law take its course," he said in response to a question at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here.
Another Congress leader Salman Anees Soz said the "gruesome murder" at the Singhu border (between Delhi-Haryana) is shocking and condemnable.
"Hope the perpetrators are quickly brought to justice. But there will now be an attempt to paint all protesters as killers. Just watch how low government supporters will go," he said in a tweet.
Reacting to the incident, BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya said had Rakesh Tikait not "justified" lynching in Lakhimpur Kheri, with Yogendra Yadav, sitting next to him, maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundli border would not have happened.
"Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed," he said. Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also tweeted on the incident, saying, "What a sad and condemnable turn of events, fight for justice cannot become means to violence and deaths. This is shameful and the guilty need to be punished. Shameful." Former diplomat K C Singh also condemned the "gruesome murder" at Singhu and asserted that no crime justifies acts one associates with ISIS/Al Qaeda or vigilantism in Pakistan.
The deceased, Lakhbir Singh, was stated to be a labourer from Punjab's Tarn Taran and was aged around 35 years, police said, adding that the body was found tied to a metal barricade near a stage put up by the farmers protesting against three agriculture laws of the Centre at the site for over 10 months. The farmers' protest site is located close to the Delhi-Haryana border at Singhu.