19-Year-Old Mentally Challenged Man Gets Beaten To Death By Sikhs For Tearing A Page From Their Hold Book

India of course- A 19-year-old individual was beaten to death on Saturday after an alleged sacrilege incident that took place at a gurdwara in Punjab's Ferozepur, police said. As per police, Bakshish Singh, a resident of Talli Gulam village, allegedly tore some pages of the Guru Granth Sahib after entering the premises of a gurdwara in Bandala village of Punjab. Bakshish's father Lakhwinder Singh highlighted that his son was suffering from a mental health issue and was undergoing treatment for the same, news agency PTI reported.

Police have filed an FIR against the deceased for the alleged sacrilege, But, Lakhwinder Singh urged the police to register a case against those responsible for his son's demise.

Police claim that after tearing several pages from the Guru Granth Sahib, Bakshish attempted to run away. Some apprehended him, and when word of the purported incident spread, the villagers gathered at the gurdwara and started beating the young man. Later, he passed away from his wounds, PTI reported.

Senior police officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police Saumya Mishra, reached the village as soon as they received the information about the incident.

An FIR was registered against 19-year-old individual Bakshish Singh under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code at the Arif Ke Police Station, based on a complaint lodged by Lakhvir Singh, chairman of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee.

Expressing his anguish, Bakshish's father Lakhwinder reiterated that his son had been mentally disturbed "for the last few years and has been undergoing treatment. The police should also register an FIR against those who killed his son," he said, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh expressed his distress over the sacrilege incident in Ferozepur.

He underlined Bakshish's death as a response to the "failure to punish the culprits and give exemplary punishments by law." Besides, the Jathedar has also requested the Sikh 'Sangat' to socially and religiously boycott the family of the accused and not to allow the last rites.

Singh claimed in a statement that there has been a "well-planned conspiracy" behind the Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege incidents for a considerable amount of time.