Shiv Sena Attacks Sikh Youth; Vigilantes Kill Social Media Influencer

On 12 Jun, Shiv Sena Panjab workers were protesting in Muktsar to demand the arrest of those involved in an attack on their district president Ravi Kumar on 29 May. The protests led Shiv Sena state president Rajesh Garg turned violent when a Sikh youth Gurwinder Singh who was driving a car approached the protesters requesting passage to go to a hospital. The protesters dragged Gurwinder out of the vehicle, tore his clothes and beat him. Akal Takht (Eternal Throne, AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj said in an earlier incident a Sikh elder Jagtar Singh was beaten up by a person under the influence of intoxicants at Rampura Phul. The police have arrested six persons in the Muktsar incident but Garg is on the run. On the same day, social media influencer Kamal Kaur's body was found inside a parked car near Adesh Medical University in Bathinda. Kaur’s real name was Kanchan Kumari. Her reels had attracted controversy. In 2024, Kumari had received death threats from gangster Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla. Gill is currently in Canada’s custody. Panjab police have arrested Jaspreet Singh from Moga and Nimratjit Singh from Patti, Tarn Taran. Another Sikh, Amritpal Singh Mehron publicly claimed responsibility for Kumari’s killing. Mehron justified the act by accusing Kumari of defaming Sikh traditions and misusing the name ‘Kaur’ to spread obscene content. After the crime, Amritpal fled to the United Arab Emirates. Jaspreet, Nimarjit, and Amritpal are all in the Nihang (traditional Sikh warriors) attire and claim to have committed the crime to rid Sikh society of vulgarity. However, the head of the Nihang Singhs' apex organization, Shiromani Panth Akali Buddha Dal Panhwan Takht, Baba Balbir Singh, said that the Khalsa never attacks the unarmed, especially women. Similarly Sikh intellectuals and artists have condemned such vigilantism in the name of religion. Yet, the fact that anyone can assume the Sikh identity on social media and make vulgar content or harass women as seen during Farmers Protest 1.0 (2020-21), remains a matter of concern (earlier coverage).