Two days after Amritsar lynching, former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh condemns incident

Amarinder Singh. File Pic

Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh is the first major political leader who has condemned the mob lynching of two men in Amritsar and Kapurthala over claims of religious sacrilege. On December 19, a man was beaten to death by a mob after he tried to commit sacrilege inside the Golden Temple.

On December 20, a similar incident took place in Punjab's Kapurthala.

"Sacrilege is wrong but it is also wrong to kill a person. What is this way? There is the law. If you take the accused to the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, a pan-national organization responsible for the management of gurudwaras) office, interrogate and kill him... Is this the way? This is illegal and this is absolutely unacceptable," Singh was quoted by PTI.

"There is no justification for mob lynching whatsoever... it is condemnable," Singh said.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday condemned the alleged sacrilege attempts at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and at a gurdwara in Kapurthala, saying conspiracies are being hatched to disturb peace in the state. He also called for public hanging of people who commit such offense.

Besides Amarinder Singh one other politician, MP Abhisek Manu Singhvi has condemned the lynching incident. "I request the authorities to take strict action against those who took law in their own hands," posted Singhvi on Twitter.