In a blood-curdling incident two Nihangs — followers of an order of Sikh warriors, characterised by blue robes and antiquated arms — stabbed to death a young man barely a kilometre away from the Sikhs’ temporal shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, late on Wednesday night, allegedly for chewing tobacco.
The victim was identified as 35-year-old Harmanjit Singh of Chatiwind area. Police said that Harmanjit was going towards the Golden Temple from his home and had stopped in front of a hotel on the way.
“He was in an inebriated condition and was about to consume tobacco when two Nihang Sikhs stopped him, which led to an argument,” added the police officer.
The shocking incident was caught on a CCTV camera. The two-minute clip shows two Nihang Sikhs entering into an argument with a man outside a hotel less than a kilometre away from the Golden Temple. Soon, the argument turned violent and one of the Nihang Sikhs pointed a sword at the man. After a brief scuffle, the Nihang Sikhs overpowered the man and stabbed him.
Shockingly, around half a dozen onlookers kept watching the entire episode at Kahia Wala Bazar on Wednesday night and did not come forward to prevent it. After the assault, Harmanjit kept lying on the street throughout the night and died because of excessive bleeding, said police.
“A youth has been arrested after the incident. He has been identified as Ramandeep Singh, who works as a waiter in one of the nearby hotels. After the quarrel, Ramandeep also sided with the Nihang Sikhs and attacked Harmanjit. The Nihangs have also been identified and soon they will also be nabbed,” said Amritsar Police Commissioner Arunpal Singh.