Man beaten to death for attempted ‘sacrilege’ at main Sikh temple
New Delhi, Dec 19 (EFE).- A man was beaten to death at the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest site, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, police said Sunday.
The incident could reignite religious tensions ahead of regional parliamentary elections next year.
The alleged desecration occurred during prayers on Saturday night, when a man allegedly broke into the Golden Temple in Amritsar where Sikhism’s holy text, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept.
After trying to touch the ceremonial sword next to the holy text, the man was detained and killed by those present, Amritsar Police Deputy Commissioner Parminder Singh Bhandal said.
“People held him and escorted him to the corridor where there was a violent altercation and he died,” he said, according to NDTV news channel.
Punjab’s prime minister Charanjit Singh Channi condemned “energetically this sacrilege attempt” and ordered the state police authorities to fully investigate the matter.
The desecration of Sikh temples is a sensitive matter in Punjab, which is considered the cradle of the monotheistic religion, and was a point of contention during legislative elections held in 2017 and 2019.
The latest incident is likely to fuel religious tensions ahead of elections scheduled for February and March 2022. EFE
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