BJP delegation seeks inquiry commission to probe Dalit's murder in Punjab, calls it lynching

Lack of justice for weaker sections in Punjab can have serious repercussions, including a rise in Left Wing Extremism, the BJP said on Monday as it demanded a commission of inquiry to investigate the "lynching" of a Dalit youth in the state.

Sharing the findings of a three-member BJP delegation which probed the gruesome killing of Jagmail Singh, its leader and party vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said that state police and medical officials denied any negligence on their part despite a lack of action after Singh was thrashed and forced to drink urine on November 7.

He died on November 16.

Constituted by BJP president Amit Shah, the delegation included two party MPs, Satyapal Singh and V D Ram, both former IPS officers. Its members visited the victim's village and held extensive discussions with his family members, villagers, police officials and doctors.

Sahasrabuddhe told reporters that a local dharmshala used by Dalits had pictures of left wing extremist figures and its library stocked proscribed literature, as he highlighted his party's apprehensions about a rise in radical violence due to a sense of injustice among weaker sections.

"If there is anything like lynching, then this is lynching," Sahasrabuddhe said about Singh's murder by members of dominant caste in Changliwala village.

"Incidents of atrocities against Dalits in Punjab have increased over the last few years. A scenario where justice is not ensured for weaker sections of society can be exploited by anti-national forces to foment trouble. The social fabric is becoming weak under the Congress rule in the state," he said.

The panel also shared its report with Shah, who is also the Union home minister, and the BJP president told them that the central government is "seized" of this trend and acting pro-actively, Sahasrabuddge said.

Satyapal Singh, a former Mumbai commissioner, said the ongoing probe headed by the state police is unlikely to render the victim's family justice when its senior officials keep saying that there was no negligence on their part.

The BJP delegation demanded an commission of inquiry into the murder. Its members said the victim was tied and beaten up with rods on November 7, and was forced to drink urine when he sought water.

The victim's legs were amputated due to injuries he sustained. They said police registered an FIR only on November 13, that too under very weak sections of Indian Penal Code to help accused.

Sahasrabuddhe said the police helped the accused because of their links to a former chief minister who is from the Congress.