In a tragic incident, a Canadian Permanent resident and a local from Lower Mainland, Pradeep Singh was killed to death in a brawl during the Hola Mohalla festival on Monday evening in India.
According to media reports, Pradeep Singh, a native of Gurdaspur, was murdered by a group of hooligans at Anandpur Sahib on the eve of Hola Mohalla. Although Punjab police has not yet confirmed the reason behind the tragedy, according to various Indian media outlets, Singh objected to some men who were using loud speakers in their jeeps to play songs. In the brawl that ensued, Singh was stabbed to death, The Indian Express reported.
According to the Rupnagar SSP Vivek Sheel Soni, Singh, who had got permanent residency in Canada, had come home recently.
Soni said, the incident took place at 10:30 pm on Monday. The SSP said the CCTV footage revealed that several persons were involved in the brawl near the entry gate of Anandpur Sahib.
Commenting on the incident, SSP Mohali told news agency ANI, “The deceased had worn the dress code of Nihangs at the time of the incident. So far, he has not been found linked to any Nihang group. We’re examining all the viral videos of the incident. I appeal to people not to believe any rumours. Further probe is underway.”
A video clip, which has now gone viral on social media, shows people hitting a person in the robes of a Nihang with a stone. The police officers were trying to ascertain whether this was a case of road rage.
Pardeep Singh’s uncle Gurdial Singh told The Indian Express that Pardeep had gone to Canada in 2016 after completing Plus Two and was now the Permanent Resident (PR) of the country. Pardeep’s younger sister Kiranbir Kaur too is in Canada.
Gurdial Singh further said that Pardeep had come to India in September last year to attend his daughter’s wedding which was scheduled in October.
“After attending the marriage, Pardeep told me that he wanted to learn the art of tattoo making, for which he went to his maternal house in Khassan village in Kapurthala district. He would go to Jalandhar from Khassan to train as a tattoo artist,” Gurdial Singh added.
The incident has sent shock waves in the community.
The Sikh Community of BC while sharing his image on Twitter expressed the grief. “The Sikh Community of BC is honouring the courage of Bhai Pardeep Singh, a 24 year old young man who simply raised his voice for the honor of Sri Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of the Khalsa, on the occasion of Hola Mohalla.”
He was getting darshan of Sri Anandpur Sahib for Hola Mohalla when this tragedy took place. This is a heinous crime committed by hooligans from our own Sikh families, the post mentioned.
