Dubai: A young Pakistani Sikh was shot dead in Peshawar on Saturday night in a suspected case of mugging.
The body of Parvinder Singh was found wrapped in a blanket in a storm drain by Peshawar police. The drain lay alongside a road in the Chamkani area on the outskirts of Peshawar.
Whether it was a case of mugging or personal enmity, police are clueless and have launched an investigation into the gory incident, which has shocked the Sikh community in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.
Wedding shopping
Singh, 28, was a resident of Chakesar village in Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK) of Pakistan. He was brother to Harmeet Singh, a journalist known as the first Pakistani Sikh television anchor.
Singh [Parvinder] had gone to Peshawar to buy gold and other items for his wedding.
A senior police officer from Peshawar told Gulf News that the circumstantial evidence indicates that the incident might have been a result of some personal enmity or something related to a money dispute. But, he added, police are investigating the incident and will nab the culprits. He, however, ruled out any act of terrorism.
Shot in the head
According to police, unidentified men shot Singh, wrapped his body in a blanket and threw it into the drain.
Peshawar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sajjid Khan said the resident of Shangla was shot dead in an area under Chamkani police station's jurisdiction Saturday night.
According to the FIR lodged with the Chamkani police station, Harmeet Singh, the victim’s brother, received a call from Parvinder’s phone. The caller, as yet unidentified, told him that he had killed Parvinder and where they could find his body.
“The body was later recovered from a storm water drain on Sunday. The victim had sustained one bullet injury to the head,” Pakistani media reported.
Worked in Malaysia
Police said the victim had returned to Pakistan after spending six years working in Malaysia and was to be married in February.
The body was identified from the documents recovered from his pockets. According to the police report, the body had a bullet wound in the head. It is suspected that he was killed in a spot different from where the body had been dumped.
Appeal for justice
Speaking to the media, Harmeet Singh appealed to news outlets and the people of the country to highlight the incident so that his brother’s murderers could be brought to justice. “We do not have a personal enmity with anyone.”
“I request you all to raise our voice. Though Pakistan is safe for communities, the government needs to ensure full protection of minorities because the government receives heavy funding to protect minorities,” Harmeet Singh said in a video message sent to Gulf News.
Protect minorities
Harmeet appealed to media to highlight the case so that the justice is served. “Please spread my message to help us ensure arrest of his killers.” He also appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of killings of minorities and ensure the arrest of his brother’s murderers on priority basis.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased took his body to Peshawar Press club to protest against his killing. A large number of Sikh community members gathered at the protest demanding justice and arrest of the killers.
Sikh population in Pakistan
According to unofficial statistics, Sikh population in Pakistan is around 50,000 with the largest number living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.
Mudassar Shah, a friend of the deceased, said that the killers had used the victim’s cell phone to inform his brother about his murder and then took away the phone also.
“He may have some monetary issues with the people in Peshawar, but he did not share details with his family,” he said, adding his phone record might help police in the investigation and arrest of the killers.
