A man accused of desecrating Sikhism’s holy scripture was killed at his home in the early hours of July 14, 2026, in Turan village, Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab. Mewa Singh, 45, had never stood trial for the case against him. He had been out on bail for seven months.
Masked attackers armed with a sharp weapon entered the family home around 1:30 a.m. They struck Mewa Singh repeatedly, then fled by scaling the boundary wall. His daughter and wife, woken by his screams, locked themselves in a room to escape the attack, according to the daughter’s account reported by The Statesman on July 14, 2026.
“My father had gone out of the room to use the washroom when we suddenly heard him screaming, ‘Save me, they are killing me, they are killing me.’ We rushed out to save him,” the victim’s daughter told The Statesman on July 14, 2026. “Two men were brutally attacking my father. When we tried to defend him, they lunged at us too. We had no choice but to lock ourselves inside a room to save our lives.”
Several Indian outlets, including Amar Ujala and TV9 Bharatvarsh, reported that Mewa Singh had been beheaded, with his head and one hand severed by the attackers’ weapon. Deputy Superintendent of Police Vikramjit Singh Ghumman denied those reports on July 15, 2026, according to The Tribune. He said the victim had sustained multiple injuries from a sharp-edged weapon, without confirming a beheading.
Mewa Singh had been booked in October 2020 by the Mandi Gobindgarh police station. He was accused of desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism’s holy scripture, at a gurdwara in Turan village. He spent nearly a year in prison before being released on bail. His bail was later cancelled after he missed several hearings due to a spinal injury, leading to a second arrest. He was released on bail again seven months before his death. The trial itself never took place.
DSP Ghumman said a near-identical case already existed. A sacrilege case had been registered against Mewa Singh in 2007, at the same Turan village gurdwara, which had also sent him to prison. No other criminal case had been filed against him between 2007 and 2020, police said.
An investigation without a suspect
Officers from the Amloh police division and Mandi Gobindgarh station arrived after villagers raised the alarm. The body was taken to the Civil Hospital in Mandi Gobindgarh for a post-mortem examination. Forensic teams collected blood samples and other evidence from the scene. Multiple investigation teams were formed to identify the attackers, who remain at large. Police were deployed in the village to maintain order.
No motive established
The motive for the killing has yet to be established, police said, adding that all possible angles are being examined. Mewa Singh’s family said they had no personal enmity or ongoing disputes with anyone in the village.
Mewa Singh had shut down his tailoring business and was working at a local mill before his death.
