Nihang who killed man over ‘sacrilege bid’ in Phagwara booked for murder

Phagwara, January 25

A Nihang who allegedly killed a man at a gurdwara here for “trying to commit” sacrilege has been booked for murder, eight days after the incident, police said on Thursday.

Earlier, police had booked Ramandeep Singh for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The incident took place on January 16 and the Nihang had claimed that the man, later identified as Vishal Kapoor from Delhi, had come to the historic Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi Chaura Khooh to commit an act of desecration. The Nihang was charged with murder on Wednesday.

During the investigation, it was found that the victim had neither attacked the Nihang nor made any sacrilege bid. Section 302 (murder) of the IPC has now been added to the FIR registered in the matter, police said.

Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vatsala Gupta on Thursday said Singh’s police remand has been extended by seven more days till January 31 by a court.

Singh was presented before the court on Wednesday.

Following the incident, Singh posted a video on social media in which he took responsibility for the killing and claimed that he acted in self-defence.

Nihangs are members of a Sikh sect and usually wear blue robes and carry traditional weapons.