Ferozepur ‘sacrilege’: Main accused in lynching of youth arrested, say cops

Main accused arrested in the lynching of a 25-year-old for alleged sacrilege in Ferozepur. 22 individuals named in FIR. Case under Section 295-A registered.

The Ferozepur police on Monday arrested the main accused in the lynching of a 25-year-old man for alleged sacrilege at Bandala village in Ferozepur, officials said.

Two days after a youth was thrashed to death on the ‘sacrilege’ charge, police on Monday said they have arrested a man in the matter.

There are 22 individuals, some of them named, nominated in the FIR filed by the police in the lynching case, while a case has been registered against deceased Bakshish under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code. Bakshish was beaten to death allegedly after he tore pages of Guru Granth Sahib at a village gurdwara on May 4.

Acknowledging the development, Ferozepur deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that no one can be allowed to run the state from the street.

“A police have arrested Jarnail Singh, the main accused who was seen in a viral video of the attack on Bakshish. Jarnail was on bail in an NDPS Act case registered under local Arif Kee police station in 2019,” the DIG said, adding “Further police probe was on.”

The incident happened on May 4 when, as per a complaint filed by Lakhvir Singh of Mahalam village, Bakhsish Singh of Talli Gulam village visited the gurdwara in Bandala village around 2.30 pm. After paying respects to the Guru Granth Sahib, he reportedly tore off its pages and tried to flee.

Lakhvir claimed that the alleged sacrilege was captured on closed-circuit television cameras installed inside the gurdwara.

The accused was then apprehended by fellow villagers and subjected to a brutal assault with swords before being taken to a local hospital. He succumbed to his injuries during treatment.