Dalit outfits demand strict action against culprits of Singhu border lynching

Farmers shout slogans during a protest against the central government’s agricultural reforms in Amritsar on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Around 15 Dalit outfits submitted a memorandum to the National Commission for Scheduled Caste on Saturday demanding stringent action against those who killed a man and tied his body to an overturned police barricade at the farmers' protest site in Singhu. The body of Lakhbir Singh, 35, from Punjab's Taran Taran district, was found tied to an overturned police barricade at the site where farmers are protesting three Central farm laws for over 10 months. The incident is being blamed on a group of Nihangs.

As many as 15 Dalit outfits, which included the Akhil Bharatiya Khatik Samaj, Akhil Bharatiya Berwa Vikas Sangh, Dhanak Welfare Association and other organisations of Dalit employees and professionals submitted the memorandum to National Scheduled Caste Commission Chairman Vijay Sampla. They urged the panel to ensure that this gory incident be fairly investigated and stringent punishment for culprits be ensured.

Meanwhile, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing of a pending petition which has sought removal of protestors. The interim application has been filed by Swati Goel and Sanjeev Newar in their pending PIL through lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha. "After the incident of mutilating and murder of the Dalit man, I have moved an urgent mentioning application before Supreme Court," the lawyer said, adding, "Anti-human activities are happening in the name of protests, including rape of a woman and killing of and mutilating a Dalit man. It cannot be allowed to continue." The plea has also sought the issuance of guidelines by the Centre to stop all kinds of protests and not permit them until the pandemic gets over.

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