Former Punjab CM Badal Deplores Lynching of Man Near Site of Farmers' Protest

Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday strongly condemned the lynching of a man allegedly by a group of Nihangs near Kundli border and demanded an impartial probe into the heinous crime. "In a civilised society, there is no place either for heinous acts of sacrilege of holy scriptures or for barbaric violence," he said in a statement here. The man was lynched, his hand chopped off and the body bearing over 10 wounds caused by sharp-edged weapons tied to a barricade at a farmers' protest site at Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border, a gruesome incident being blamed on a group of Nihangs.

"Allegations that the entire sequence of events is a part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to sabotage the long, peaceful and democratic struggle of farmers against the three laws also need a thorough, fair and impartial probe," Badal said. However, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said the gruesome murder of the innocent person clearly established that criminal elements have overtaken the farmers' agitation. In a statement, Chugh said that any kind of crime at the place of farmers' protest is alarming and the brutal murder indicated that all is not well with the intention of the agitation.

Farmer leaders should own up the responsibility of criminal activities on the scene of protest and should make sure that the criminals surrender, Chugh said, adding that "Taliban elements" should not be allowed to be part of the agitation. Farmer unions are responsible for the unfortunate murder of a Scheduled Caste man from Tarn Taran and action should taken against this ghastly incident, BJP state president Ashwani Sharma said. The unions are responsible for safety and they do not allow police to come near the people participating in the demonstration, he said. "The body of Lakhbir Singh was found behind the stage of union leaders. The man was brutally murdered and tortured," Sharma said.

A video uploaded on social media clearly shows the dark inhuman side of these union leaders, he claimed. This is not Afghanistan, India is a democracy and the people believe in equal rights for all, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, he said in a statement, adding that police should investigative the incident thoroughly and punish those guilty.

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