Two more people belonging to the 'Nihang' community of Sikhs, namely Bhagwant Singh and Govind Singh, surrendered to police on Saturday, 16 October, in connection with the murder of a Dalit labourer at the Singhu Border farmers' protest site in Haryana.
Earlier on Saturday, the police had arrested a second Nihang Sikh in Punjab's Amritsar district, taking the total number of accused to four.
Meanwhile, a court in Sonipat had sent the first accused, Sarabjit Singh, to a seven-day police remand.
The detained man, also belonging to the 'warrior' Nihang Sikh community, was earlier taken to the Crime Branch, Kharkhoda, and then the Kundli police station civil hospital for a medical examination.
The Haryana Police told the court that Sarabjit had named four others in the case and added that he will be taken to Chamkaur and Gurudaspur in Punjab for identification.
What Had Happened
A 36-year-old man was found mutilated at the farmers' protest site on the Singhu border in the wee hours of Friday. The deceased, who had been identified as Lakhbir Singh, was reportedly found in a pool of blood, with his legs chopped and his left wrist severed.
Singh, a resident of Cheema Khurd village in Jalandhar's Tarn Taran district, had been found tied to a police barricade. The deceased had been categorised as belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC). Disturbing visuals of the incident began circulating on social media shortly after the body was discovered.
"At about 5:00 am, a body was found hanging with hands, legs chopped at the spot where farmers' protest is underway. No information on who is responsible," DSP Hansraj had told The Quint.
A First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (act committed by several persons for furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been lodged against unknown persons at Sonipat's Kundli police station, and the viral video is under probe, he had added.
The Sonipat Police had taken Singh's body to civil hospital for post-mortem.
"The forensic team has examined the scene of crime. Postmortem is underway. We've some suspect names, will make headway soon," Sandeep Khirwar, ADGP Rohtak, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Singh, who had no political affiliations and no previous criminal records, as per the police, had worked as a labourer.
'Nihang Group Has Claimed Responsibility': SKM
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions that is leading protests against the Centre's contentious agricultural laws, in a statement, said:
"A Nihang group at the scene has claimed responsibility, saying that the incident took place because of the deceased's attempt to commit sacrilege with regard to the Sarbaloh Granth."Samyukta Kisan Morcha
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has urged the Haryana Police to take strict action against the culprits, news agency PTI reported.
Vijay Sampla, the chairperson at the NCSC, had reportedly sought a preliminary report from the Haryana Police within 24 hours.
'Opposed to Violence of Any Form': SKM Condemns the Killing
Further, the SKM condemned the "gruesome killing" of Lakhbir Singh in the statement issued on Friday.
"Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns this gruesome killing and wants to make it clear that both the parties to this incident, the Nihang group and the deceased person, have no relation with Samyukt Kisan Morcha. The Morcha 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."Samyukt Kisan Morcha
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a member of the SKM had asserted that attempts were being made to turn the morcha into a religious issue. Referring to this as a 'conspiracy', he added that there should be a probe in the matter, ANI reported.
He had stated, "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."
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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