Hours after a man was found brutally murdered at the site of the farmers' protest at Singhu border on Friday, 15 October, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) issued a statement condemning the killing.
"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. It is been reported that this deceased was staying with the same group of Nihangs for some time," the SKM, an umbrella body of farmer unions that is leading the protests against the Union government's new contentious agricultural laws, noted in its statement.
"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
Asserting that the culprits should be punished as per due process of law, the SKM emphasised that the farmers' protest is a "peaceful and democratic movement and is opposed to violence in any form".
'Any Amount of Condemnation of This Murder Is Insufficient': Yogendra Yadav
Swaraj India President and SKM leader Yogendra Yadav, in a statement on Friday, said:
"The news reports that are coming from the Singhu border about a murder today, and the photos and the videos that are coming, are enough to disturb anyone. A murder, and such a brutal one at that, and then also a video on it – how can such a thing be accepted in a society, any civil society? Any amount of condemnation is insufficient for such an incident."
"A statement released by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha clarifies that the group responsible for the murder is not related to it or the ongoing farmers' protest in any manner," he added.
Yadav further emphasised that the farmers' movement was a peaceful one and did not tolerate violence of any kind.
Man Found Mutilated at Farmers’ Protest Site at Singhu Border, Police Probe On
A man was found dead at the farmers' protest site at the Singhu border in the wee hours of Friday, 15 October. The deceased, who has been identified as Lakhbir Singh, was reportedly found in a pool of blood, with his legs chopped and his left wrist severed.
Thirty-six-year-old Singh, a resident of Cheema Khurd village in Jalandhar's Tarn Taran district, was found tied to a police barricade. Disturbing visuals of the incident were circulated 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 told The Quint.
An FIR has been lodged against an unknown person at Sonipat's Kundli police station, and the viral video is under probe, he added.
Initial media reports claim people from Nihangs – a 'warrior' Sikh group – as the accused in the incident.
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