Virsa Singh Valtoha, the SAD candidate contesting from Khadoor Sahib, has challenged the Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh contesting independently to an open debate on issues of the Panth (Sikh Collective) and Panjab. ‘Pick any one person from your side (Amritpal) opposite me to have a face-to-face live discussion. It should be telecast unfiltered. During the debate, if the weight tilts towards the other side and I am proved to be a liar or weak, I will withdraw,’ he said. Valtoha said he was once close to Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and did time in jail under National Security Act. The SAD leader questioned the alleged links of Amritpal Singh’s legal counsel and former Member of Parliament Rajdev Singh Khalsa with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Khalsa was the first to announce Amritpal Singh's candidacy (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 18, Story 3). On 4 May, a 19-year-old was allegedly beaten to death in Ferozepur district. Bakshish Singh is a resident of Talli Gulam village and allegedly tore some pages of a sacred religious text after entering a place of worship in Bandala village. Bakshish’s father Lakhwinder Singh claimed his son had been suffering from mental illness and was receiving treatment. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the 19-year-old under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code at the Arif Ke Police Station, based on a complaint lodged by Lakhvir Singh, chairperson of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee. Bakshish's father said the ‘police should also register an FIR against those who killed his son.’
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