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TOI journalist lies about Parbhani lynching: From ‘victims not Sikhs’ to ‘alarm about thieves not coming from a mosque’. What victim’s relative told OpIndia

The family of the victim did say that the children were lynched by Muslims and it was one Akram who led the mob against the children. He also said that the lynching happened in a Muslim-dominated area and the call came from the side of the Idgah, and it could be a mosque.

A day after the dreadful incident of a Sikh minor being killed in the Parbhani district of Maharashtra was reported, the left-liberal Islamist community attempted to whitewash the incident and made insidious claims about the victims denying them their religious identity.

Mohammed Akhef, a Times of India journalist and several other Islamists and Leftists claimed that the victims were not Sikhs and that they belonged to the other community. The Islamist cabal also attempted to justify the murder and said that an alarm about thieves entering the village was raised from a ‘religious place’ which was not a mosque.

“This is not a communal incident, two of the accused are from other faiths. Victims are ‘Sikkalkari’, a tribal community n not Sikhs, as is being claimed. Alarm about thieves entering village was raised from religious place. And it was not a Mosque,” tweeted Mohammed Akhef, a ‘journalist’ working for Times of India.

Screenshot from Twitter

The said tweet was also retweeted by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who later seemed to have deleted the retweet.

Screenshot from Twitter

The incident happened on May 27 at 3 am in the morning when three Sikkalkari Sikh minors had gone to look for a pig in the Ukhalad village of Parbhani district. On their return, they were blocked by accused Akram Patel and 4-5 others who mistook them as thieves. The accused then brutally thrashed the boys and hit on their heads with iron rods leading to the death of one of them.

In the FIR copy, obtained by OpIndia, it was mentioned that the incident happened in the area near the Idgah. “They poured spicy chutney into our eyes. They also broke our left arm and left leg. Later, one of them asked Akram regarding action to be taken against us. Akram then ordered saying ‘Maro salon ko (kill them)’,” one of the victims said in the FIR.

The FIR has been filed under sections 302, 307, 341, 143, 147, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.

Victim confirms incident happened in Muslim dominated area, near Idgah

Team OpIndia talked to the victim’s relative to confirm that the incident happened in the area near the Idgah as mentioned in the FIR. The relative also said that the area is Muslim-dominated and that the accused mistook the minors as thieves and attacked them with rods.

“The area was Muslim dominated area and all the accused were also Muslims. They accused the minor boys of being thieves and attacked them with sharp weapons. The incident happened near the Idgah and no alarm was raised when the boys were there,” the relative confirmed.

one of the victims lodged at the hospital (Image obtained by OpIndia)

The relative of the victim also said that the Muslim accused made an announcement from a speaker and gathered the crowd before assaulting the minors. They (Muslims) made an announcement claiming that the minors were thieves. “Chor aye chor aye,” someone from the speaker yelled. Further he also said that the announcement was made from the speaker from atop the Masjid or some play ground and no other religious place as claimed by the TOI journalist.

Yesterday, he said that two of the minor boys are serious and are undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Parbhani. “Our children did nothing. We keep animals and nurture them. That day, these three went looking for the pigs but didn’t find any. On their way back, they were accused of theft by some people and were brutally beaten. One of them has died. The other two are serious at the hospital,” Gorasingh’s relative was quoted as saying by OpIndia.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) confirms victims were Sikhs

The Islamist left-liberal cabal is also claiming that the victims identified as Arunsingh, Gorasing and Kripalsingh are Sikkalkari tribals and not Sikhs. However, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president, Harjinder Singh Dhami has confirmed that the minors belonged to the Sikh community. Dhami has also demanded strict action in the case against the accused.

“A Sikh minor named Kirpalsingh (14) died in the attack, while two other Sikhs, were left seriously injured. The Maharashtra Police should identify and nab the perpetrators. The heinous attack is a blot on humanity,” Dhami said as he condemned the incident.

History of Sikkalkari Sikhs in Maharashtra

Notably, Sikkalkari Sikhs are the Sikh artisans who migrated from Punjab to Nanded in the state of Maharashtra during the period of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. These artisans constituted various persons including potters, carpenters etc. The major section of the Sikkalkaris were iron smiths who were famous for making weapons like Kirpan, Swords, and bodies of vehicles for Guru Ji and his followers (Khalsa).

After the death of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, people from this community are believed to have settled in Nanded and nearby areas. At present, many Sikkalkari settlements reside in small huts in several towns in the Marathwada region of the state. They are significantly seen in Nanded, Beed, Parbhani, and Hingoli districts.

Hindu activist Prasad Chikshe who is also a senior official of Maharashtra’s well-known NGO Dnyan Prabodhini, says that these people work on daily wages at construction sites or are mostly seen working at brick manufacturing outlets. “They live like tribals and keep moving from one place to another in search of jobs,” adds he who is also engaged in the upliftment of the lives of such people.

Parbhani SP says four taken into custody who hit minors assuming them as thieves

Team OpIndia further has obtained Parbhani SP Ragsudha’s say in this matter. She confirms that a total of 8 persons have been booked in the case and out of them 4 have been taken into custody.

“We were informed at around 3:15 am on May 27 that three ‘thieves’ were caught by locals in the Ukhalad village of Parbhani district. We reached the spot to see that the three Sikkalkari minors were beaten and had sustained severe injuries. The Police admitted the victims to the government hospital where the doctors declared one of them dead. The other two are injured and serious. They are being treated,” SP said.

Parbhani SP Ragsudha R conforming police action in Parbhani lynching case from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.

The SP also added that 8 accused have been identified in the case and 4 of them have been taken into custody. “We’ll check the CCTV footage of the incident and identify people who actually beat the minors assuming them as thieves. The case has been filed. Investigations are underway,” she stated.

The FIR has been filed under sections 302, 307, 341, 143, 147, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. Further investigations into the case are underway.

Assertions by the Times of India journalist and lies by the cabal

The Times of India journalist made three assertions about the case which were, in turn, furthered by AltNews’ Mohammad Zubair. The most egregious assertion that was made is that the victims were not Sikhs at all but belonged to a tribal community. First and foremost, the lynching would not be less serious if the victims were not Sikh and belonged to some other religion. Islamists and Leftists choose to deny them their Sikh identity because they want to further the separatist and Khalistani agenda that Sikhs and Muslims are under attack in India and therefore, there is a Muslim and Sikh alliance to be forged. For that purpose, they would deny victims of Islamist violence their identity simply to further that trope.

This is, of course, a lie. As explained, Sikkalkaris are also Sikhs. If the historical perspective was not enough, SGPC also owned the victims as Sikhs. Therefore, this assertion by the Times of India journalist is a flat-out lie and an attempt to further a separatist agenda.

The second assertion that the announcement to lynch the Sikh youths was made from a religious place other than a Mosque is also a lie. OpIndia spoke to the relative of the victim who was lynched. The relative categorically said that the announcement was made from the side of the Dargah. They suspect the announcement came from a mosque over the mic.

The third assertion of the lynching having no religious angle, can of course, not be outrightly rejected. It is indeed true that those accused of lynching belong to all faiths and are not only Muslims. It is entirely possible that the people who lynched the Sikh youths had no religious motive, though, lynchings in such Muslim-dominated areas often do have a religious angle to it and therefore, the suspicion is not beyond the realm of possibility. However, it is also true that the family of the victim did say that the children were lynched by a mob led by one Akram. Therefore, to make that assertion without mentioning the accused who led the mob and vital details only points towards the whitewashing of the heinous crime.

Ayodhra Ram Mandir special coverage by OpIndia

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Siddhi Somani
Siddhi Somani
Siddhi Somani is known for her satirical and factual hand in Economic, Social and Political writing. Having completed her post graduation in Journalism, she is pursuing her Masters in Politics. The author meanwhile is also exploring her hand in analytics and statistics. (Twitter- @sidis28)

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