Golden Temple Lynching: No Case Filed 72 Hours On, Accused Unidentified

More than 72 hours have passed since a man was beaten to death at Amritsar's Golden Temple over an alleged sacrilege attempt, but Punjab Police are yet to identify the man, let alone file an FIR on the killing.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the incident now aims to identify the man through DNA testing.

"Attempts were made to check the fingerprint of the man against Aadhaar data but to no avail, said Amritsar Police Commissioner Sukhchain Gill. Biometric scan works only if there is continuous blood flow. Still, we have taken his fingerprint on paper and will still try to match it with the database," Mr Gill said, adding that they plan to conduct a DNA test. The postmortem will be conducted today.

Asked why no FIR has been filed yet in connection with the killing, the Police Commissioner said identifying the man was their top priority at this point. "We want to ascertain his identity since no ID documents or mobile phone was found on him. As we are investigating the sacrilege case, the murder charges will also be probed," said Mr Gill.

Police have circulated photographs of the man, who is an accused in the sacrilege case. The photographs have been retrieved after police scanned videos of the accused seen loitering around the Golden Temple before allegedly attempting the sacrilege.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had on Sunday said that a Special Investigation Team had been formed that would submit its report within two-three days.

"We will present an interim report soon regarding our investigation," said Dr Gill.

Two men were beaten to death in Punjab within 24 hours - at Golden Temple and in Kapurthala district - over alleged sacrilege attempts.

The Kapurthala incident, police have said, appeared to be a case of theft and not of sacrilege.

The incidents have sparked tension in the poll-bound state, where a series of sacrilege incidents had emerged as a key issue in the run-up to the last Assembly election. Owing to the sensitive nature of the incidents, political leaders cutting across party lines have been very cautious in their remarks. While most have condemned the alleged sacrilege attempts and pointed to a conspiracy behind them, they have shied away from commenting on the lynchings.