In Punjab, flower petals were showered on Sandeep Singh, the suspected killer of Shiv Sena Taksali leader Sudhir Suri, outside the court as he was being driven there in a police van. Sandeep Singh was produced in court on Saturday after his 7-day police remand expired. The court extended the police custody for three more days after hearing the matter.
The video of the flower petals being showered on his van was shared by journalist Sachin Gupta on Twitter. He wrote, “In Punjab, flowers are being showered during the court appearance of Sandeep Singh, the killer of Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri.” Slogans like ‘Sandeep Singh Zindabad’ and ‘Raaj Karega Khalsa’ were also raised by several people inside the court premises, as audible in the video.
On November 6, the chief of the Khalistani terror group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, promised Rs 10 lakh in legal help to the shooter Sandeep Singh, who is charged with murdering Sudhir Suri.
Suri was shot numerous times in broad daylight on November 4 in Amritsar, in the presence of police. When the attackers fired Suri from the crowd, he was demonstrating outside a temple in Amritsar. Soon after, Sandeep Singh was apprehended by police. The condition of law and order in Punjab has been in question following the incident. This is reminiscent of similar incidents in Pakistan where killers are cheered and celebrated if they are deemed to have committed those crimes in the name of religion.
The Killer of Pakistani Governor showered with flowers in 2011
This tradition of honouring a convicted criminal or a murderer stems from Pakistan and the blasphemy culture that has been instilled in certain faiths in the past. In January 2011, Pakistani lawyers showered flower petals on Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the assassin of Punjab (Pakistan) Governor Salman Taseer, inside the court. As he walked out of the court, some 200 supporters shouted slogans in his support.
Governor Taseer was a liberal who frequently spoke out against blasphemy laws. Islamic clerics praised Qadri for being heroic, brave, and religious in his execution of Taseer.
Growing number of murders in Punjab in the name of religion
During the past few years, there has been a steady increase in crimes committed in the name of religion and ‘blasphemy’ in Punjab. Since 2015, Punjab has seen hundreds of instances of blasphemy associated with Sikhism as well as other religions.
Murder of Dera Sacha Sauda follower accused in 2015 Bargari sacrilege case
A Dera Sacha Sauda follower charged in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case was recently shot dead in Faridkot by unknown people. The deceased person was identified as Pradeep Singh who was a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda, an accused in a 2015 Bargari sacrilege incident.
In 2015, Pardeep Singh was accused of stealing a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot. He was out on bail. Protests had erupted in Faridkot following the ‘sacrilege’ incidents in 2015. In October 2015, police opened fire on protesters in Behbal Kalan, killing two people and injuring several others in Kotkapura, Faridkot.
Notably, Mohinder Pal Singh Bittoo, another Dera Sacha Sauda devotee and an accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, was murdered on June 22, 2019, at Patiala’s high-security Nabha jail by two of his fellow inmates. Two convicts, Gursewak Singh and Maninder Singh battered him with rods and lynched him.
Golden Temple Sacrilege
On December 18, a man was lynched to death by the Sikh Sangat (Sikh devotees) at Amritsar’s Shri Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara (Golden Temple) for allegedly disrespecting the Sikh religion’s sacred book, Shri Guru Granth Sahib.
According to the CCTV footage, the young man leaped into the Sanctorum, which housed the sacred book. He took up the kirpan (sword) that had been put next to the holy book. At that point, the Sikh Sangat present acted quickly and captured him. According to reports, the Sangat accused him of attempting to disrespect Shri Guru Granth Sahib.
The guy was lynched by the Sangat, and his corpse was placed in front of the Gurudwara. After the man’s body was placed on the ground in front of the SGPC office, people gathered around it to applaud the speedy justice. They yelled Sikh religious slogans to rejoice over the murder.
The Singhu Border Lynching case
On the night of October 14 and 15, 2021, a man named Lakhbir Singh from a village in Punjab was killed near the Singhu Border in Delhi, where farmers’ protests were taking place. His right hand was severed, and his body was hung by Nihang Sikhs on a barrier near the Kundli border. It was said that Lakhbir attempted to flee with the Sikh holy book Sarbloh Granth.
Arrests were made in connection with the murder, but many welcomed the Nihang Sikhs’ actions, alleging that governments had failed to impose harsh punishment against individuals who desecrate the sacred texts.
Army officer killed for alleged sacrilege
Adding another incident to the list, on the night of July 1 and 2, 2021, an Indian Army officer named Deepak Singh was savagely assaulted at a Gurudwara in Punjab for alleged blasphemy. Several others rationalised the assassination by claiming that Deepak went to the Gurudwara to insult Guru Granth Sahib. According to them, the Gurudwara’s custodians observed him and when questioned, he was unable to provide a “justifiable” reason, which resulted in his lynching, and his subsequent death.
Many members of the Sikh community, who believe in harsh punishment for those who commit sacrilege, came out in favour of Daljit, the prime accused, and the other accused. Deep Sidhu, who was accused of rioting on Republic Day 2021, had then posted in support of Daljit.
The murder of main accused of Ghawaddi sacrilege case
On July 26, 2016, 47-year-old Balwinder Kaur was shot dead in broad daylight by two motorcycle-borne men. Kaur was the main accused of desecrating Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in October 2015.
In 2015, 20 Ang (pages of the holy book are called Ang or limbs) of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji were found scattered in a Gurudwara in Ghawaddi Gurudwara which caused an uproar among the Sikh community. Later, Kaur confessed to the crime. She had allegedly torn the pages and later raised the alarm about the incident herself. Some reports suggested she did it to frame the granthi.
Celebration of the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal
The praise for Sandeep SIngh is not the first time that a killer has been praised like this in India. Just recently, following the infamous ‘Nupur Sharma blasphemy case’ and the savage killing of Kanhaiya Lal by two Islamists in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, the situation was similar. Several instances were documented in which other Islamists supported and even praised the heinous murder of Kanhaiya Lal. Needless to say, the barbaric killing of poor tailor Kanhaiya Lal in broad daylight by two Islamists shocked the entire nation.
These incidents of murders for blasphemy and sacrilege and widespread celebration of such convicts and accused have been on the rise in the recent past. Since Suri’s assassination, several Hindu leaders in Punjab have received death threats, threatening to kill them next. Regardless of the current level of tension in Punjab, pro-Khalistan Twitter users were spotted praising the murder. Some people even dubbed it ‘Sewa’ (a selfless religious offering).