Singhu border lynching case: Nihang Sarabjit sent to 7-day police custody

New Delhi, Oct 16: Sarabjit Singh, a member of the Nihang community, who claimed responsibility for the barbaric killing of a man at the farmers' protest in Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border, has been sent to police custody.

A 35-year-old man was lynched, his hand chopped off and the body tied to a metal barricade at a farmers' protest venue at Kundli. The gruesome incident being blamed on a group of Nihangs.

Family members of Lakhbir Singh, whose body was found at Singhu border, claimed he was an addict and lured to the border site.

"We do not know how he reached the Singhu border and who took him there. I received a call from my daughter in the morning and she told me that Lakhbir was found dead at the Singhu border," Baldev Singh, Lakhbir's father-in-law told news agency ANI.

"He took Rs 50 and said he was going for work in Chabal and will return after 7 days. I thought he went to work there. He was not such a person (to commit desecration of Guru Granth Sahib). The perpetrators must be punished," said Raj Kaur, sister of labourer Lakhbir Singh on Friday.

Lakhbir Singh is survived by his wife, three daughters with the youngest being 8 years old and the eldest being 12-year-old. His wife left him 5 to 6 years ago anf lives separately.

In a viral video clip, some Nihangs were seen standing as the man lied on the ground in a pool of blood with his chopped-off left hand lying next to him.

The Nihangs were heard in the clip saying the man has been punished for desecrating a holy book of the Sikhs.

The Nihangs are a Sikh order, distinguished by their blue robes and often seen carrying spears.

The deceased, a resident of Cheema Khurd village in Tarn Taran in Punjab, was identified as Lakhbir Singh, who had no criminal history or affiliation towards political parties. He is survived by his wife Jaspreet Kaur and three children.