Acts of Nihang Sikhs Under a Cloud

On 15 Jan night, 26-year-old Vishal Kapoor from Delhi ventured on the streets of Phagwara looking for the home he had lived in as a child with his grandmother. Since it was intensely cold, Kapoor took sanctuary at Chaurra Khooh Gurdwara. Nihang Sikh Ramandeep Singh from Mangu Math, Ludhiana made Kapoor confess on video that he had come to the Gurdwara to commit sacrilege, then killed Kapoor. After the crime, Singh recorded himself admitting to the murder and posted both videos on social media. Singh then hid in one of the rooms of the Gurdwara, refusing to come out till other Nihangs came and feted him. He was then taken away by the police. Singh confessed to the police he committed the crime for ‘publicity and glory.’ In another incident on 28 Jan, on the birth anniversary of Sikh warrior Baba Deep Singh, tension gripped Gurdwara Janam Asthan Baba Deep Singh at Pahuwind village in Tarn Taran district. The issue started with the president of the Gurdwara Management Committee Colonel Harsimran Singh (Retd) asking Nihang Sikhs to move their tent from a public space and remove Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s poster from where it was placed near the Jorha Ghar (shoes of devotees). When the Nihang Sikhs refused to do so, Col. Singh himself removed the poster. Sensing trouble, police entered the Gurdwara and escorted Col. Singh out in a car. In both cases, the Nihang Sikhs have displayed unruly behavior. Off late, the numbers of factions of Nihangs have also grown including those supporting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The community must find ways to govern, including the Nihangs (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 15, Story 8).