The busy commercial-cum-residential lane on Loharka Road in Amritsar now bears witness to the stains of violence towards vulnerable communities on Punjab’s soil. LGBTQA+ influencer and makeup artist Mad Sandhu (officially named Madhusudan) was shot dead by unidentified bike-borne men on Saturday evening.
Also Read: Punjabi influencer Mad Sandhu’s killing: Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrests ‘shooter’
A day after the killing, news reports stated that posts on social media accounts claimed responsibility for Sandhu’s murder. Ironically, these posts are nowhere to be found now. One such claim was attributed to a post by a social media handle named Goldy Dhillon.
With speculations rife and police investigations under way, Sikh radical groups have also come under the radar following the news of a three-month-old audio-video clip allegedly featuring a confrontation between Sandhu and Nihang jathedar Manpreet Singh Khalsa.
Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, Harmanbir Singh Gill said, “We cannot verify the authenticity of these social media posts as they are posted from abroad. We are viewing this case from multiple angles, the investigation is going in the right direction and we will crack it soon.”
With over 2,32,000 followers on Instagram, Sandhu had built a career that extended well beyond the trolling he faced online. He was the founder of Mane Lane Unisex Salon and had appeared in the film Oye Bhola Oye 2, songs like Ragda and drama-comedy-thriller web series Youth Kartoot.
Sandhu’s murder has evoked strong responses both online and offline — from the LGBTQA+ communities in Punjab to the political spectrum.
“It is probably because this is the first such crime against a person from the LGBTQA+ community in Punjab, even though they have been discriminated against for a long time now,” said Manu, a member of Queering in Chandigarh, an LGBTQA+ collective formed in 2022.
“Most of the films and songs make fun of or ridicule queer people. There are certain books in Punjabi which mention the LGBTQA+ people, but the good ones are not really in the mainstream. ‘Jalawatan’ by Sukirat Anand was one of the earliest Punjabi stories on lesbian relationship,” he said, and added that the community is horrified by Sandhu’s murder.
Manu, a member of Queering in Chandigarh, an LGBTQA+ collective formed in 2022. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Manu said, many queer people have got threatening messages from anonymous accounts, but queer expression can’t be suppressed. “When it comes to Sikh religion, the people who claim to be true upholders of Sikhism and then threaten or harm the oppressed aren’t the real Sikhs. They just want to suppress anything that doesn’t fit their definition of gender expression. It goes against the basic tenets of ‘Nirbhau Nivair’ and ‘Manas ki jaat sabhai ekai pehchanbo’ of Sikhism,” he added.
Manu brings up Diljit Dosanjh’s song ‘Aroma’, released a few months ago, in which he used the derogatory term, “Chakka”. “His fans defended that he’s not abusing trans people but talking about ‘lesser men’. But even if you use an abuse traditionally employed against trans/gay people, it’s perpetuating queerphobia.”
Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender to have enrolled in Panjab University. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transperson to have enrolled in Panjab University, traces the roots of queerism in Punjab to the Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb in Delhi and the story of Madho Lal. “The 16th Century Punjabi Sufi poet Shah Hussain and his young companion Madho Lal shared a profound romantic bond. Also, when Baba Bulle Shah says, ‘mai nach nach yaar manaona pave lok kanjari bole’, he is referring to queer people,” she said.
Dhananjay believes that Sandhu’s murder, especially when Section 377 was repealed/replaced when the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) came into force in 2024, can intimidate the entire LGBTQA+ community. “BNS does not protect LGBTQA+ people from rape; and this murder can further push them back to the closet,” she added.
Among the many pro-feminism and LGBTQA+ collectives in the region, Panjab Feminist Union of Students (PFUS), too has issued a statement.
Harpuneet Kaur, 26, a member of PFUS, said, “Threats being issued to Punjab’s queer community isn’t new. It is documented that the Amritsar Pride’s 2025 march was called off because radical Sikhs opposed it with a strong warning. I want to ask, what’s wrong with a makeup artist putting herself/himself out there? Don’t radical Sikhs use social media to further their beliefs? What they do is right, but what others, especially people from LGBTQA+ community do is wrong? Is that not inequality? And isn’t Sikhism all about fighting inequality?”
Harpuneet Kaur, 26, a member of Panjab Feminist Union of Students. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The Hindu tried contacting the founders of Amritsar Pride, even via several collectives, but they did not respond due to safety concerns. Harpuneet, like Manu, feels that people from LGBTQA+ community are the most vulnerable. “Sikhs are a minority everywhere, other than in Punjab. One has to treat minorities with respect to expect the same, I feel,” she added.