An arrest is expected soon, the Haryana Police said on Friday after the body of a man with a hand and a foot cut off was found at a farmers' protest site in Haryana's Sonipat, around 30 km from Delhi.
"We've registered a case under 302/34 IPC (murder charges under the Indian Penal Code). The forensic team has examined the scene of the crime. A post-mortem is underway. We have some suspect names, will make headway soon," said senior Haryana Police officer Sandeep Khirwar.
"At about 5 this morning, a man's body was found tied to a barricade in a mutilated condition. We have collected vital clues from the crime scene, an arrest is expected soon. A probe is on," his colleague JS Randhawa said.
In a gruesome incident being blamed on a group of Nihangs - a 'warrior' Sikh order - the mutilated body of a man who appeared to have been beaten to death was found tied to a metal barricade at a farmers' protest venue at Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border on Friday.
In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, some Nihangs were seen standing as the man lies on the ground in a pool of blood with his chopped off left hand lying next to him. NDTV cannot verify the authenticity of the video.
The Nihangs, distinguished by their blue robes and often seen carrying spears, are heard in the clip saying the man has been punished for desecrating a holy book of the Sikhs.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions that is spearheading the protests at Delhi's borders against three agriculture laws of the Centre, said a group of Nihangs has claimed responsibility for the brutal killing after the victim allegedly attempted to desecrate the Sarbloh Granth, a holy book of the Sikhs.
Senior farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar told news agency PTI that the group of Nihangs, which allegedly killed the man, was not part of the SKM's protests and strict action should be taken against those responsible for the act. He claimed that the victim was staying with the same group of Nihangs for some time.
The man, Lakhbir Singh, was a labourer from Cheema Khurd village in Punjab's Tarn Taran and was aged around 35 years, the police said, adding that the body was found tied to an overturned police barricade near a stage put up by the farmers protesting at the site for over 10 months.
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