Tailor murdered over ‘insult to Islam’, curfew in Udaipur localities

Two men with a cleaver murdered a tailor here, saying in a video post on social media that they are avenging an insult to Islam and triggering communal tension in the Rajasthan city, part of which was placed under curfew.

Within hours, prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people were imposed across the state for a month and mobile internet services suspended for the next 24 hours. At 8 pm, curfew was declared till further orders in seven police station areas of Udaipur city.

The men who allegedly carried out the daylight murder posted three videos online admitting to the crime and were soon arrested.

In a video clip, one of the purported assailants declared that they had beheaded the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.

Indirectly, the assailants also referred to Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader suspended from the party over a remark on Prophet Mohammad.

Kanhaiya Lal, the tailor, was recently arrested by the local police over some remarks made on social media by him. A BJP leader said the victim feared for his life and had sought police protection, but the authorities did not act on his appeal.

The assailants entered his shop in the city’s Dhan Mandi area posing as customers. As the tailor took the measurements of one of them — who later identified himself as Riaz Akhtari – attacked him with a cleaver, nearly severing his neck.

The other man shot the brutal murder with his mobile phone.

The two men fled from the scene and later uploaded this clip on social media. In another video, the alleged assailant said they beheaded the tailor and threatened the prime minister for lighting this fire.

Yet another provocative video was recorded on June 17, in which Akhtari said he will post it the day he carries out the murder. He asked other members of the community to continue with similar attacks.

As the videos circulated on social media, tension escalated. Shopkeepers in local markets downed shutters.

Shopkeepers stopped police from taking away the body, saying they will allow the removal of the corpse only after the murderers are arrested and compensation — Rs 50 lakh and a government job — given to the victim’s family.

On Twitter, CM Ashok Gehlot appealed for calm and asked people not to share the videos.

“The guilty will not be spared. The entire police team is working on it with full alertness. I can imagine the anger which is there among people due to the murder. We are taking action accordingly,” he told reporters in Jodhpur.

Udaipur Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar also promised strict action.

A brutal murder has happened. Broadly, it seems to be a planned murder. We are discussing the demands put forth by the family members. Strict action will be taken against the criminals. I appeal to people to maintain peace,” he said.

Gehlot said there is communal tension in the country and the prime minister should address the people. He said both Hindus and Muslims are worried.

“It is more impactful if the prime minister speaks. I believe that the prime minister should address the country on this occasion and should make an appeal that we will not tolerate violence at any cost. What is the problem in saying so?” he said.

BJP state chief Satish Poonia targeted the Congress government in Rajasthan, saying that the murder was the result of its appeasement policy.

He said those seen in the video had threatened the victim on June 17.

The victim had asked for security but it was not given by the police, he claimed, adding that this indicated the apathy of the state’s Congress government. The state unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) made the same claim.

“The situation in Rajasthan is such that Hindus are being attacked and murdered at many places. It is because of the politics of appeasement of CM Ashok Gehlot,” Poonia claimed.

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria also condemned the incident and said he was reaching Udaipur Tuesday night. The prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC, however, do not allow the gathering of more than three people.

About 600 more policemen, including five companies of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, were sent to Udaipur, officials said. Senior police officers were also rushed to the city.

Gehlot said the trial will be fast-tracked under the state’s case officer scheme.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)