Chandigarh, June 17 (IANS) Giani Malkit Singh, head granthi of the Akal Takht, has sparked a row by defending the killing of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari, popularly known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, who was blamed for promoting vulgar songs.

The head granthi described the act as “appropriate”, accusing the influencer of promoting obscenity.

“We should not listen to vulgar songs… This kind of treatment should be meted out to those who indulge in spreading vulgarity and defaming the Sikh community. Nothing wrong has happened,” he said.

The head granthi, the second-highest position after the Akal Takht jathedar, also urged the youth to avoid listening to such obscene content, pointing out that similar incidents have happened in the past as well.

Kanchan’s decomposed body was recovered on June 11 from a car parked in Bathinda city. Police said she had been strangled to death. Two men — Jaspreet Singh and Nimratit Singh — have been arrested for the murder. The prime accused, Amritpal Singh Mehron, is believed to have fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hours after the killing.

Superintendent of Police Amneet Kondal said a lookout circular had been issued against the main accused, Mehron, who hails from Moga.

The 30-year-old is a self-proclaimed Sikh radical and heads an organisation called ‘Qaum De Rakhe’. The police found that Mehron had been plotting Kanchan Kumari’s murder for nearly three months. Along with two arrested accused, Jaspreet Singh (32) and Nimratjit Singh (21), he had visited Ludhiana multiple times and stayed in hotels close to her residence to monitor her lifestyle, movements and routine.

Earlier, Mehron issued threats to two other women social media influencers in the state for allegedly spreading vulgarity, said the police investigation.

A video, which surfaced on social media after the murder, purportedly shows Mehron saying Kanchan was killed by two of his accomplices.

Kanchan, with 384,000 followers, also operated a YouTube channel called ‘Funny Bhabhi TV’ that has 236,000 subscribers.

Another influencer, Deepika Luthra from Amritsar, who was receiving death threats from Mehron because of her “double-meaning” content, confined herself at home.

Sensing a threat to her life, Commissioner Police Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar has deployed police security outside her house.

–IANS

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