`No justification`: Amarinder Singh 1st top leader in Punjab to condemn lynchings of sacrilege accused

To a question on lynchings in Amritsar and Kapurthala, Captain Amarinder said that the accused should have been handed over to the police. He said, `No civilised society can and should approve of such killings.`

Days after sacrilege incidents in Punjab, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that there is "no justification for mob lynching" and it is "condemnable".To a question on lynchings in Amritsar and Kapurthala, Captain Amarinder said that the accused should have been handed over to the police. "No civilised society can and should approve of such killings."

On the issue of people getting angry for denial of justice over Behbal Kalan sacrilege, thus resorting to such killings, the former Chief Minister said that his government had pursued investigations into the matter from the day one.

He said, first the state had to fight a long legal battle to get the inquiry back from the Central Bureau of Investigation and then the investigation was started, and 22 people, including police officials and civilians were arrested.

"There is no justification for mob lynching, whatsoever and it is condemnable," Singh said. This came as a man was beaten to death in an altercation by angry devotees after he allegedly attempted to commit sacrilege at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, earlier on December 18.

Later on December 19, an unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by locals at Nizampur in Punjab`s Kapurthala district on Sunday for allegedly disrespecting the `Nishan Sahib` at the village Gurudwara.

The former Chief Minister also said that national security and the welfare of Punjab was on top of his agenda and hoped that the next Punjab Lok Congress-BJP government will successfully work on that.