A Phone Call, Then Punjab Police Officer's U-Turn On Lynching Case

Hours after a man was beaten to death in the presence of policemen in Punjab's Kapurthala, police officers ruled out a sacrilege link and even backtracked on their own statement after a phone call in the middle of a press conference.

During his 45-minute press meet yesterday, Kapurthala police chief GS Dhillon first said an FIR had been filed into the killing. "An FIR has been registered on the statement of our SHO (Station House Officer) on how people didn't allow cops to perform their duty, thrashed the accused who later died," the Kapurthala Inspector General said.

Then came a phone call for which he left the room. When he returned, Mr Dhillon said something entirely different. "The second FIR on killing has not been registered... we will ascertain the identity of the accused and then register the case," he said.

On Sunday, a mob jumped over the wall of a Gurdwara in Kapurthala to get to the man, who had been accused of trying to remove the Nishan Sahib (Sikh flag). In front of the cops, the man was beaten to death and his body was taken away in a police gypsy.

"We appealed to people to allow us to take the accused along but emotions were running high," Mr Dhillon admitted.

Though the police caught him, Sikh groups had insisted that he be questioned in front of them. Cellphone videos showed the man being beaten with sticks.

According to the police, the incident appeared to be a case of theft, not sacrilege. "There are no visible signs of a sacrilege attempt," said Mr Dhillon.

The identity of the man beaten to death in Kapurthala has not been established yet. The police also have yet to identify the man lynched in Amritsar's Golden Temple on the previous day, following an alleged sacrilege attempt.

On Saturday, during evening prayers at the Golden Temple, a man in his early 20s jumped into the enclosure where the Granth Sahib - which the Sikhs call their 11th Guru - is kept. He was seen picking up a golden sword as priests rushed to overpower him.

The man was beaten to death. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said no mobile phone, no purse, no identity card or Aadhaar card was found from him.

The incidents have caused tension in a state where sacrilege is a highly emotive issue. The police have stepped up security near gurdwaras. Ahead of next year's elections, it has also adopted political overtones, with a faction within the Congress accusing the Amarinder Singh government of failing to address the last series of sacrileges.

The Akali Dal has called it a "deep-rooted conspiracy" to "disturb peace and communal harmony in the state". Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised the state government, saying that there were strong indications of a conspiracy.