Sikh brutally beaten by Delhi police in public – Summary and Reaction

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Footage of Delhi police beating a Sikh man whilst he is being restrained on the floor went viral this week. Read on for a summary of what happened and see reaction from Sikhs below.

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Sikhs across the world have spoken out after footage emerged of an Indian police mob brutally beating a Sikh man and his son this weekend (June 16).

 

The footage, shared widely on social media and available to see above, shows a confrontation between a Sikh man, now named as Sarabjeet Singh and a police officer. It has been revealed the police officer stopped Sarabjeet Singh to seek a bribe of 500 rupees for a supposed traffic infringement in the Mukherjee Nagar area of Delhi. Police blackmailing members of the public for a bribe is very common and widely accepted as part of the culture of law in India.

The incident has become an international talking point, with the situation being exacerbated today after posts showed one of the officers involved allegedly threatening to repeat the 1984 genocide against Sikhs protesting against the police actions.

United Sikhs, an international humanitarian and legal advocacy charity, sent delegates to meet the victims and stated “Our legal team at New Delhi are with victims. We will continue to follow this matter. At the very least, the victims should be compensated, involved police personnel should be dishonourably dismissed and criminally prosecuted.”

 

What actually happened?

Footage begins by showing Sarabjeet Singh of Gramin Sewa, Delhi, in a confrontation with an officer with his kirpan – a sword that is part of the punj kakkar (five Ks) of the Amritdhari (initiated) Sikh uniform – in his hand. Whilst Sarabjeet Singh was holding it the policeman was within touching distance the whole time but was at no point attacked.

Video footage shows the Sikh man’s 16-year-old son Balwant Singh then leads his father away from the confrontation, who then sheaths his kirpan. The police officer also retreats only to return with approximately seven other officers, charging at Sarabjeet Singh with their lathis (police sticks), with Singh responding by producing his kirpan again to ward off his attackers. When a member of the public goes behind the Sikh man and locks his arms around him to restrain him, officers pounce unleashing brutal blows. The member of the public restraining Sarabjeet was later shown injured by what was apparently a blow from Singh’s kirpan.

Whilst his father is being aggressively restrained, Sarabjeet Singh’s son then returns to their vehicle only for a policeman to point his gun at him, before dragging him out and beating him with other officers. Meanwhile, Sarabjeet Singh is still being wrestled to the ground and receiving blows from police lathis. Adding insult to injury, Sarabjeet’s dastaar (Sikh turban) came off during the attack and was callously kicked to the side by one officer when he was taken down to the floor, where he was still restrained and the beating continued.

It is then alleged both Sarabjeet Singh and his son were taken to a local police station and tortured. Immediate reaction saw Sikhs, with support from several respected organisations, protest against the incident across India, with many Sikh bodies coming forward to condemn the attack and also request an investigation and/or punishment against the police.

Two days after the incident Delhi police released a statement saying three officers involved had been suspended, only after leading politicians had demanded an inquiry into the incident, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. FIRs (First Incident Reports) have been filed against Sarabjeet Singh by Delhi Police.

Most recent Indian coverage on the incident has centred on claims that Sarabjeet Singh has ‘Multiple FIRs for physical violence and disturbing peace’.

Many Sikhs, both in India and abroad, have stated this incident is yet another example of human rights abuses Sikhs face in India as a minority community.

Jasveer Singh of the Sikh Press Association said, “It is important to note a key part of this issue being ignored by Indian media is the allegation that the Delhi policeman was attempting to extort Sarabjeet Singh. This kind of behaviour is so common among police in India it has near enough just become accepted and isn’t taken into account in such incidents involving citizens defending themselves from police criminality.

“It is also worrying yet fairly typical of state influenced press to bring up past misdeeds of a victim of police brutality. We have seen this happen in other countries against minorities and it is an attempt to justify the heinous actions of the officers by painting the victim in a bad light. Sikhs don’t just face violence in reality in India, they also face media maligning too.”

 

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