Image Courtesy:presswire18.com
“The death near the Kundli border has no relation to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). While we respect all religions and their texts, we condemn this act of taking the law into one’s own hands and committing murder,” SKM leader Hannan Mollah said to Sabrang India on October 15, 2021 in reaction to gruesome reports of a murder near farmers protest site.
The right-wing media are having a field day on Friday, narrating the horrifying mutilation and murder of 35-year-old Lakhbir Singh from Cheema Kala village, Punjab. The man was living near the Nihang group – a religious community of armed Sikh warriors – camp site that had set base near the SKM Kundli protest site. According to reports, he allegedly disrespected the holy text Guru Granth Sahib and the religious group responded by cutting off his hand and hanging his body behind the SKM protest stage.
Owing to the location of the incident, many media houses have named the murderers “farmers” and questioned the SKM’s claims of a peaceful narrative.
BJP’s Information and Technology department in-charge Amit Malviya even tweeted, “Rape, murder, prostitution, violence and anarchy… All this has happened in the name of the peasant movement. Now the brutal murder of a young man on the Kundli border of Haryana… What the heck is going on? Who are these people doing this anarchy in the name of the farmers’ movement who are defaming the farmers?”
During an interview with India Today, he condemned the “violent” behaviour of farmers. He claimed leaders like Yogendra Yadav and Rakesh Tikait justified alleged mob lynching incidents in Lakhimpur Kheri as well. It may be mentioned that the claims of lynching in Lakhimpur Kheri were never confirmed.
In response, Yadav circulated the following statement:
However, farmers in a press release on Friday clarified that those involved in the incident have nothing to do with the farmers’ protest. In fact, Mollah said that the group has previously engaged in violent incidents as well.
“We had appealed to the police to move them away from the protest site but nothing happened. When we learnt about the strung up body in the morning, we went there and later had a meeting as well to clarify that neither the deceased nor the murderers have anything to do with the SKM,” he said.
Over the course of the day, the Nihang group claimed responsibility for the killing, stating that the man insulted the holy text. However, the SKM, reiterating itself as a peaceful and democratic movement said, “The SKM is against sacrilege of any religious text or symbol, but that does not give anyone the right to take the law into their own hands. We demand that the culprits be punished according to law after investigating the allegation of murder and conspiracy behind sacrilege. As always, the SKM will cooperate with the police and administration in any lawful action.”
Related:
Haryana: Mutilated body found at Kundli border
UP: BJP workers threaten SHO, create ruckus in police station
UP court denies bail Ashish Mishra in Lakhimpur Kheri case