Nihang Saravjit Singh surrendered to police yesterday night

New Delhi:

Saravjit Singh – a Sikh ‘warrior’ or Nihang who has claimed responsibility for the gruesome murder of a Dalit labourer at a farmers protest site in Haryana’s Singhu yesterday – has claimed “no regrets”.

Singh was produced at a local court today following his surrender yesterday and sent to seven days’ police custody; the authorities had argued for 14 days’ saying Sarvjit had given them information on four other suspects and that they had to recover the murder weapons.

An earlier video – from before his surrender – of him tightly flanked by other Nihangs – at least two of whom still carried swords – and surrounded by reporters has emerged, in which one reporter asks: “Do you feel repentance?”

To this Singh looks disinterested, waves the question away and shakes his head, and replies “No”.

The body of Lakhbir Singh, 35 years old and from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, was discovered early yesterday morning. It was found tied to a police barricade with the left hand and right foot cut off.

As news of the brutal and sickening murder spread, at least three videos were circulated, showing a large group of Nihangs, standing around his body as lay bleeding and in pain.

One video shows the group standing over him after his left hand was cut off. Another showed them filming his dying moments and a third showed him strung up by his feet like a slab of meat.

NDTV has not been able to independently verify any of these videos.

Sonipat police cut down the body and took it to the Civil Hospital

Also, reports circulating since yesterday morning claim that Lakhbir Singh was attacked for allegedly desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh’s holy book.

Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav, who is part of the group leading the farmers’ protests, had indicated an argument broke out at the protest site Thursday night over a question of desecration.

The Nihangs allegedly beat Lakhbir to death, cut off his limbs and tied him to the police barricade.

However, voices from Lakhbir’s home village of Cheema Kurd have a different story to tell.

“He could not have done this; he was not that kind of a person. He was made to do this,” Masa Singh said. Another, who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal, stressed: “Lakhbir can’t be involved in desecration”, and a third, retired soldier Harbhajan Singh, said “… he must have been lured there.”

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading farmers’ protests against the government’s new laws, and members of which group are among the thousands camped out at Singhu, has unequivocally distanced itself from the murder and any connection with the Nihangs.

“… want to make it clear – the Nihang group (and) the deceased – have no relation with the Kisan Morcha,” SKM said yesterday, adding that it abhorred sacrilege but nobody could take the law into their hands. The guilty must be punished, the farmers body said, and offered the police its support.

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar held a high-level meeting at his residence in Chandigarh to discuss the murder; Home Minister Anil Vij and the state’s police chief were present.

Mr Khattar, sources from his office said after the meeting, promised “action will be taken”.

Last year there was an incident involving Nihangs – a Punjab cop had his hand chopped off with a sword in Patiala after he asked them to show them ‘movement passes’ during the Covid lockdown.