comscore Indian man beaten to death inside historic Sikh temple | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Top News

Indian man beaten to death inside historic Sikh temple

Honolulu Star-Advertiser logo
Unlimited access to premium stories for as low as $12.95 /mo.
Get It Now
  • ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2019
                                An Indian Sikh offers prayers as he takes a holy dip at the Golden Temple illuminated on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in Amritsar, India. 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 Sikhism’s most revered shrines. The incident occurred on Saturday, Dec. 18, during the daily evening prayer, local media reported.

    ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2019

    An Indian Sikh offers prayers as he takes a holy dip at the Golden Temple illuminated on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in Amritsar, India. 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 Sikhism’s most revered shrines. The incident occurred on Saturday, Dec. 18, during the daily evening prayer, local media reported.

NEW DELHI >> 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 that they were checking CCTV footage to glean more information.

“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.

Comments (20)

By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the Terms of Service. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our guidelines.

Having trouble with comments? Learn more here.

Click here to see our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. Submit your coronavirus news tip.

Be the first to know
Get web push notifications from Star-Advertiser when the next breaking story happens — it's FREE! You just need a supported web browser.
Subscribe for this feature

Scroll Up