Man beaten to death ‘after attempting sacrilegious act in Indian temple’

Illuminated Golden Temple is seen on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru and the founder of Sikhism, in Amritsar, India, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)
Illuminated Golden Temple is seen on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru and the founder of Sikhism, in Amritsar, India, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

(AP) - A man was beaten to death in the northern Indian city of Amritsar after he allegedly attempted to commit a sacrilegious act inside the historic Golden Temple, one of Sikhs’ most revered shrines.

The incident occurred during the daily evening prayer on Saturday, media reported, after the man jumped over a railing inside the inner sanctum and attempted to grab a sword that was kept near the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book.

TV footage showed people inside the temple rushing to stop him.

Police told New Delhi Television that the man was killed after the incident and they were checking CCTV footage to glean more information.

AMRITSAR, INDIA - DECEMBER 18: Devotees and members of Sikh organizations protesting outside the Teja Singh Samundri Hall Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) head office demanding the accused of the sacrilege attempt at Golden Temple be handed over to them, on December 18, 2021 in Amritsar, India. According to witnesses, the man jumped over the railing of the sanctum sanctorum inside the Golden Temple during the daily evening prayer and tried to grab the sword kept in front of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. He was stopped and killed by those present. (Photo by Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times/Sipa USA )

“The man, about 20 to 25 years of age, had a yellow cloth tied on his head and jumped the fence … the people inside held him and escorted him out to the corridor where there was a violent altercation and he died,” Parminder Singh Bandal, deputy commissioner of Amritsar police, told the channel.

The chief minister of Punjab state, where Amritsar is located, strongly condemned the incident, calling it the most “unfortunate and heinous act to attempt sacrilege,” his office tweeted late on Saturday.

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