A woman from Bihar has claimed that the man who was lynched to death at a Gurudwara in Kapurthala, Punjab was her brother. According to a report in India Today, she identified the man as Ankit Kumar, and his mother’s name is Geeta Devi. The woman told the Police over the phone that she would visit Kapurthala with her mother to identify the deceased.
The reports suggest that the woman sent some documents and pictures to the Police for verification. SSP Khak has confirmed that they have received the documents, and they are being examined.
Viral video matching the deceased raise more questions
A video is going viral on social media platforms in which a young man matching the victim could be seen. By the video, it appears that the man was probably mentally unwell and homeless. He is seen wearing assorted clothing, likely picked up from here and there, and behaves strangely.
The video was recorded by a woman in which the man was seen in the same attire as the victim who was lynched in Kapurthala Gurudwara. In the video, he could be seen wearing a red sweater-like t-shirt, grey coloured trousers and had a bag on his shoulder. He was also wearing anklet bells on his feet and had a gardening tool in his hand.
A woman had recorded a video a day earlier of the man who was lynched for eating food inside a Gurudwara in Kapurthala
— Rambhakt Vedic (@Vedic_Revival) December 21, 2021
From his mannerisms looks mentally challenged.
Imagine the kinds of people who find ‘conspiracy’ in 4 rotis being stolen and even lionize the killers pic.twitter.com/hoTU8ZApno
The woman asked the man, “Who are you dressed like? Krishna?” He nodded as yes. The video was shot outside a gym at Kanjali Road on the outskirts of Kapurthala. Harvinder Singh, the owner of the gym, verified the footage. Singh told Dainik Bhaskar that the man appeared to be mentally challenged, and he was roaming around the gym during morning hours.
The Police said that they would check CCTV outside the gym and would take the help of the woman who recorded the video. SSP added if the video turned out to be accurate, those who killed the young man would not be spared.
The man was at Gurudwara looking for food
Reports have suggested that the man was at Gurudwara hoping to find some food. He was spotted by a volunteer in the kitchen. The man tried to escape but was apprehended by the sewadars or volunteers. He was later beaten to death before police could take him away. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Reports also say that he had deep cut marks on his body. Videos have emerged of the Gurudwara in charge where he is inciting people saying the man (victim) has committed blasphemy while admitting that he was caught taking Rotis at the kitchen. The victim is seen tied up, barely conscious in the video.
Kapurthala incident was the second such case in just 24 hours. On December 19, a man was lynched to death at Golden Temple, Amritsar, by the angry mob after he allegedly attempted ‘sacrilege’ at the Akal Takht.
