Kapurthala lynching victim had eight deep cuts on body; No murder case registered yet

Neck and other body parts of the man lynched after an alleged sacrilege attempt in Punjab's Kapurthala had over eight 'deep sharp cuts', says a medical officer. Meanwhile, National Commission for Minorities have taken suo moto congnizance of both the lynching incidents in Punjab and have sought a reply from the Chief Secretary by Dec 26.

Kapurthala/New Delhi:The neck and other body parts of the man killed for alleged sacrilege bid at a local gurdwara here had over eight "deep sharp cuts" that were likely to have been inflicted by swords, a senior medical officer of the local civil hospital, where his body has been kept, said on Monday.

Police said no murder case has been registered in this case as yet and their priority is to establish the identity of the man for which they have shared his pictures in media and with the police in other states.

The unidentified man, who appeared to be a migrant labourer, was killed by a mob after being accused of "disrespecting" the Sikh religious flag at a gurdwara in Nizampur village here on Sunday morning.

The police released gurdwara manager Amarjit Singh, who was detained for questioning, on Sunday night. He had claimed that he saw the man trying to disrespect the 'Nishan Sahib' (religious flag) early morning after he came out for daily prayers.

However, the police had on Sunday said there was "no visible sign" of sacrilege incident having taken place at the gurdwara, which is located on the Kapurthala-Subhnapur road here.

Civil hospital senior medical officer Dr Sandip Dhawan said there were more than eight deep sharp cuts on the neck, hips and legs that were likely to have been inflicted by swords, besides blunt injuries. The exact number of injuries will be known after the post mortem, he said.

Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said the post mortem of the body will be conducted after the lapse of 72 hours in case no claimant came forward. The unclaimed body would be cremated by the municipal authorities, he said.

The body of the victim has been kept in the mortuary of the local civil hospital. A police team is contacting police officials of other states on phone and has also asked the health authorities to conduct a DNA test to establish his identity, he said.

Khakh said the police have shared a photo of the man in newspapers. The SSP has deputed Kotwali station house officer Prabhdeep Singh to investigate the case. No murder case has been registered in this case as yet, he said.

A case under section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) has so far been registered on the complaint of the manager of the gurdwara.

National Commission of Minorities Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura on Monday took suo moto cognizance of both the incidents of lynching in Amritsar and Kapurthala districts. He has written to the Chief Secretary, Punjab for a detailed report of the incidents before December 26.

(with input from agencies)