Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 17, 2021, 01:45 PM
Amritsar: The Amritsar Police on Saturday arrested another accused, identified as Narayan Singh, from Rakh Devidass Pura in Punjab's Amarkot village in connection with the lynching of Lakhbir Singh at a farmers' protest site near the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border. This comes after Nihang Sikh Sarvajeet Singh, who claimed the responsibility of the brutal murder of Lakhbir, was sent to seven-day police custody by a civil court."We arrested him outside a Gurudwara in his village. When he realised he can't escape, he came out. Haryana Police informed. Their team has left from Sonipat. We'll hand him over to them as per law. If they don't come, we'll investigate him here," Amritsar Rural SSP Rakesh Kaushal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI."He has confessed that they killed Lakhbir. He says that when he was told the Lakhbir insulted Guru Granth Sahib, he got angry and cut off his leg. Lakhbir bled to death," he added.Here's everything you need to know about the case in 10 points:1. Lakhbir, a Dalit Sikh, was found dead on Friday morning near the Singhu border. His hands were chopped and his foot partially severed.2. Lakhbir, who was a daily wage labourer, hails from Punjab's Tarn Taran district and he is survived by his wife and three daughters.3. The Nihangs have claimed responsibility for the murder, claiming he was punished for "desecrating" the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs.4. Three videos have also gone viral on social media where the Nihangs can be seen standing around Lakhbir's body. However, Jagran English cannot independently verify the veracity of the videos.5. However, Lakhbir's family and his village head have denied the charges levelled against him. The family has also claimed that he was never involved with the farm protests."Around five years ago, we had started Lakhbir’s treatment for drug addiction at the Government hospital in Tarn Taran. His family was very disturbed due to this. We fear that he might have been lured into committing some misguided act (at Singhu)," Indian Express quoted the village sarpanch as saying.6. Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmer unions, has condemned the killing and distanced itself from the incident, urging the government to probe Lakhbir's murder."When we reached the spot some people were saying that the deceased man, before dying, admitted he was sent by someone and given Rs 30,000. I don't have the video proof of it. Government should probe this matter thoroughly," SKM's Jagjit Singh Dallewal was quoted as saying by ANI.7. The farmer leaders have also said that they will upgrade security by installing CCTV cameras and increasing the number of volunteers at protest sites."So far volunteers affiliated to local groups of farmer unions were deployed at the protest site to monitor the situation and coordinate security-related issues. But it has been decided now that such volunteers shall be deployed only by SKM at protest sites," Bharatiya Kisan Union's Dharmendra Malik told news agency PTI.8. Meanwhile, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing of a pending petition which has sought removal of protestors.9. Referring to the incident at the Singhu border, a fresh plea has been filed for urgent hearing of the PIL, pending since March this year, saying "The right to freedom of speech and expression cannot supersede the right to life and if this protest is allowed to go in like this, the nation at large will be at a loss."10. The interim application has been filed by Swati Goel and Sanjeev Newar in their pending PIL through lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha.