No evidence of sacrilege: Punjab CM on Kapurthala lynching

There was no evidence that the victim of mob lynching in Kapurthala village had committed any kind of sacrilegious activity said Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to media on Friday. The FIR, which was filed against unknown persons, would be amended to reflect this fact, he added.

"There was no sacrilege in the Kapurthala case. It was a murder. Investigations are on. The FIR will be amended," Mr Channi told reporters.

An unidentified man was brutally lynched on Sunday by an angry mob in Kapurthala after it was alleged that he was spotted trying to remove the Nishan Sahib (Sikh holy flag) from a gurudwara. Post mortem examinations revealed at least 30 deep cuts to the head and abdomen, suggestive of sword attacks. The body was taken away and cremated by civic authorities shortly afterwards.

Videos of the man being killed went viral on social media. The police had also said the incident appeared to be a case of theft and that there were "no visible signs of a sacrilege attempt."

Another incident the day before the Kapurthala lynching saw a man attempting to grab the golden sword kept in front of the holy Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, whereupon he was dragged away and beaten to death.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is campaigning aggressively for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, has alleged that the killings are an attempt to disturb peace ahead of polls. He has also accused the state's ruling Congress and Mr Channi of failing to address these incidents and punish those responsible.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has also condemned the killings as "unacceptable", in contrast to the silence from many other political leaders.

Harjinder Singh Dhami, the head of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had declared that it was not possible to "bluntly condemn" the killings since the matter involved the religious faith and feelings of the Sikh community - an issue which is still relevant after the 2015 string of sacrilege attempts that led to police firing and killing anti-sacrilege protestors at Behrbal Kalan.

Intelligence agencies have already raised the alarm over possible terrorist fears as the incidents have put the state on edge. A bomb blast in Ludhiana on Thursday has also added to the fears.