Attack: On December 23, 2020, a gang of radical religious people ambushed Harnek Singh in his driveway. In order to recuperate from more than 40 stab wounds, he needed more than 350 stitches and several surgeries. According to The Australia Today, three supporters of Khalistan who attempted to kill well-known radio personality Harnek Singh of Auckland, who has spoken out against the organization’s ideology, received sentences. While Sukhpreet Singh, 44, was found guilty of being an accessory, 27-year-old Sarvjeet Sidhu entered a guilty plea to attempted murder. According to The Australia Today, which cited NZ Herald, the third person, a 48-year-old Auckland resident with temporary name suppression, organised the attack and harboured anger towards Harnek Singh for his outspoken opposition to the separatist cause. Judge Mark Woolford underlined the need for community protection and a potent deterrent against religious fanaticism during the hearing.
A group of religious zealots ambushed Harnek Singh in his driveway on December 23, 2020, during the incident. He needed more than 350 stitches and numerous surgeries to heal from more than 40 stab wounds. “It bears all the hallmarks of religious fanaticism,” Judge Woolford said. This kind of sentencing calls for a different strategy. Preserving the community from additional acts of violence and making a powerful deterrent message to others are of utmost importance.”
Three cars full of men had followed Harnek Singh, also known as Nekki, before the attackers stabbed him “within an inch of his life.” In order to save himself from potentially bleeding to death from the several stab wounds, he was able to lock the door of his car and call attention to himself by honking, according to The Australia Today. The man with name suppression was once Avtar Singh, a former bodybuilder, who told the court he was friends with him before calling him a “thug” and a member of the “mafia” in 2018. “He has a way around people, especially broken people,” Singh stated. Baljinder, Avtar’s companion, told the court he was asked to kill Harnek but turned it down. According to him, Jaspal Singh called him on December 23 and said, “Job is done, he’s no longer going to be on the radio.”
The report states that a defendant who is 48 years old and whose name is being withheld until trial was not present during the attack. The individual had a long-standing grudge against Hranek Singh, the well-known radio broadcaster from New Zealand, for his outspoken opposition to Khalistan, the court was informed. “Harnek Singh told the courtroom that his opinions regarding Sikhism probably fall more along the liberal end of the spectrum while the majority of his critics were more on the fundamentalist or conservative side,” according to a report in The Australia Today. Harnek Singh spoke about his family’s constant terror in a victim impact statement that was read out by the prosecutors: “My family faces fear each day when the sun goes down.” His appreciation for the New Zealand legal system stemmed from the fact that “no one is above the law, not even religion.” Directly addressing the defendants, Harnek Singh said, “You came to kill me. You made an attempt to quiet me. You intended to give everyone who disagrees with your unconventional religious beliefs a very stern message. However, you were unsuccessful.”
“I will carry on expressing my opinions and beliefs as I always have,” he said. The only frightening message you have succeeded in conveying to those who share your beliefs is that deeds have consequences and that, in a nation such as New Zealand, the law does not abate just because you commit wrongdoing in the name of God.” The judge was moved by Harnek Singh’s remarks, and he repeated them in sentencing the offender, according to The Australia Today, which quoted the NZ Herald.
The attack’s 48-year-old architect was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison, with a nine-year minimum term required before becoming eligible for parole. While Sukhpreet Singh was placed under home detention for six months, Sarvjeet Sidhu was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. Notably, two men—Jagaraj Singh and Gurbinder Singh—were cleared owing to a lack of evidence, while two others—Jobanpreet Singh and Hardeep Singh Sandhu—await punishment for their roles in the attempted assassination of Harnek Singh early in the following year.
