A man was beheaded by two unknown assailants in Udaipur’s Maldas area today for allegedly sharing a social media post in support of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose remarks on Prophet Mohammed led to nationwide protests. The entire incident, which took place near the Udaipur Bus Stand, was recorded by the two attackers.
Both accused were arrested by the police just hours after the gruesome murder based on the video evidence. They were nabbed near a highway in Rajsamand. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot confirmed the arrests while urging people to maintain peace.
Earlier, Gehlot appealed to people to maintain peace and asked them 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 later told reporters in Jodhpur.
Following the arrests, a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) was rushed to Udaipur, reported ANI quoting sources. The manner in which the tailor was murdered has raised suspicion on the accused’s links with any terror outfit.
The arrested accused, namely Riyaz and Gaus Mohammed, are both the residents of Surajpole, Udaipur, the police said.
How tailor Kanhaiya Lal was murdered in broad daylight?
The deceased — a tailor identified as Kanhaiyalal Teli — had allegedly put up a WhatsApp status few days back in support of Sharma, whose remarks led to violent protests in various parts of the country earlier this month, drawing condemnation from several countries. Teli owned a shop with the name ‘Supreme Tailor’ in Danmandi area.
A video, purportedly showing the two perpetrators of the heinous crime — one of whom calls himself Riyaz and introduced the other one as Mohammad — surfaced on social media showing the duo taking responsibility for the blatant murder and threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.
The video shows one of the perpetrators posing as a customer while the tailor is seen taking his measurements. Soon after, the alleged assailant is seen attacking Kanhaiyalal Teli while the device, with which the video was being recorded, appears to drop in the commotion, while screams continue to be heard in the audio that follows.
Several other videos following the murder in broad daylight show the tailor’s body outside his shop ‘Supreme Tailor’ lying in a pool of blood as people surround the vicinity.
Manoj Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Udaipur, informed FinancialExpress.com that the tailor was murdered over an exchange of social media posts over Nupur Sharma’s remarks between two communities.
Kumar further said that the tailor was himself an accused in a case related to inflammatory social media posts and had been questioned by the police earlier. The police said the tailor had received threats from certain organisations over the posts, allegedly posted by his son.
Speaking to reporters earlier, the Udaipur SP said that few accused have been identified, adding that strict action will be taken against them.
“A heinous murder has been committed and a thorough investigation will be conducted into the incident. Few accused have been identified. Police teams constituted to locate the accused. We will take action on the video of men claiming to have committed the act,” Kumar told news agency ANI.
Hawa Singh Ghumaria, the ADG Law and Order for Rajasthan, also asked the media not to broadcast the video because of its highly inflammatory content.
Protests break out in Udaipur, Internet suspended
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.
The tense situation prompted deployment of police forces and closure of shops. The prevailing tension prompted authorities to suspended internet services across the state till further orders.
Curfew was imposed in seven police station areas of Udaipur from 8 pm till further orders on Tuesday after the killing of a tailor that triggered communal tension in the Rajasthan city. Udaipur Collector Tarachand Meena issued the order to impose curfew in seven police station areas of Dhan Mandi, Ghanta Ghar, Hathi Pole, Amba Mata, Suraj Pole, Bhupalpura and Savina police stations.
“Two ADGPs from Jaipur, one more SP and 600 additional police force have been sent to Udaipur. The culprits will not be spared,” said ADG, Law and Order, Rajasthan.
“A statewide alert has been issued to all SPs and IGs to increase the mobility of forces and to maintain officers on the ground. We’re assessing the law and order situation to take further decisions,” he added.
