Saravjeet Singh, a man associated with the Nihang group, surrendered to the police, claiming the brutal mutilation and the killing of a 33-year-old man at the border. Saravjeet will be produced at the court on Saturday. The incident of mutilating and lynching a person allegedly for disrespecting Guru Granth Sahib has created unrest at the protest site as the farmers’ unions have distanced from the incident and protesters at Singhu too are dissociated from the incident.

What happened at Singhu?

A Dalit labour from Punjab’s Tarn Taran, identified as Lakhbir Singh, was found tied to an overturned police barricade near the main stage of the farmers’ protest. His left hand was severed. A video of the incident also appeared on social media which showed the man lying in a pool of blood with his chopped off left hand lying next to him. In the video, the Nihangs were heard saying that man was punished for desecrating the holy book of the Sikhs. Lakhbir apparently put the holy book in an unclean place. The incident took place around 4.30am.

Who are the Nihangs?

An order of Sikh warriors, Nihangs are identified by their blue robes and armours. As the farmers started their protest against the three contentious farm laws, the presence of the Nihang Sikhs atop their horses at the protests sites was noticed.

Protest site tense after the brutal killing

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions, said the Nihangs had no connection with them. Neither the deceased has any association with the farmers’ unions. It said it denounced any form of violence and will cooperate with the police. “When we reached the spot some people were saying that the deceased man, before dying, admitted he was sent by someone and given ₹30,000. I don’t have the video proof of it. Government should probe this matter thoroughly,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal of Samyukta Kisan Morcha said.

Security was upped at Singhu following the incident with increased police presence at the site. “The situation in the morning was tense as people were angry about the incident. There are two parties. One who are saying that taking law in hand is not the appropriate thing, while the other faction was with the sentiments of Guru Granth Sahib,” one Sukhwinder Singh told PTI.