Police ban internet and public gatherings as tensions rise in India following Hindu tailor’s murder | World News

Police have banned public gatherings and suspended internet services in the Indian state of Rajasthan a day after two Muslim men posted videos claiming responsibility for killing a Hindu tailor.

Tensions were high in the northwestern city of Udaipur after police arrested two men who allegedly slit the neck of a tailor in his shop on Tuesday.

Swinging a meat knife, two bearded men claimed responsibility for the murder in a clip shared online.

They say they are avenging an insult to the Prophet Mohammad that was done by the victim.

They also allude to Nupur Sharma, a former spokesman for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose remarks about the Prophet earlier this month sparked national and international outrage. .

The Indian government then asked social media platforms to immediately remove content that promotes, praises or justifies the killing.

In an effort to prevent the video from being shared, authorities suspended internet service in the city and surrounding areas of Rajasthan state, deployed more police to Udaipur and banned mass gatherings to prevent unrest. religious stability escalated.

After the murder, several dozen people in New Delhi affiliated with far-right groups protested and demanded that the perpetrator be hanged.

The two suspects were questioned by federal investigators on Wednesday as police are on the lookout for any unrest in the state.

Hawa Singh Ghumaria, a senior police officer in Rajasthan, said: “We are under strict orders to prevent any form of demonstration or demonstration to condemn the murder.”

He added that the crime sent “shock waves across the country”.

The tailor has been identified as Kanhaiya Lal, 48, who is said to have shared a social media post in support of one of the spokespeople who was suspended for Prophet Mohammad’s remarks, according to tradition. local communication.

The two suspects were arrested hours after the attack and identified as Udaipur residents Gos Mohammad and Riyaz Akhtari.

Footage of the attack shows one of the attackers being measured by a tailor, while another filmed.

The man being measured then began stabbing Mr Lal with a knife, while the tailor desperately tried to prop him up with his hands.

Bhawarlal Thoda, a city manager in Udaipur, said the tailor who had been detained because a social media post supporting the BJP spokeswoman had been traced to his mobile phone.

After his release, he reported to police on June 15 that he was being threatened.

The suspects posted a second video of themselves following the murder, accusing Mr Lal of blasphemy and threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same way.

They brandished long, blood-stained knives as they smiled as they sat on the sofas.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry denied reports appeared in some Indian media that the suspects were linked to an organization based in Pakistan.

“Terrorists executed my father in the most shocking way, the country must stand with our family for justice,” the victim’s son, Yash, told Reuters news agency after the cremation ceremony. his father.

He said the perpetrator should be tried and sentenced to death, while denying that his father had made any comments that were offensive to other religions.

Maulana Ahmed Siddiqui, a Muslim cleric based in Udaipur, said: “The incident has shocked Muslims.

The incident comes after a series of attacks by Hindu nationalists on minorities – especially Muslims – who have been targeted for everything from their eating style , clothes to inter-religious marriage.

Bulldozers have also been used to demolish Muslim homes in several Indian states, which critics describe as a growing pattern of “bulldozer justice” against the group. minority.