In response to reports appearing in a segment of the Indian media regarding investigations into a murder case in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, the FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said: “We have seen reports in a segment of the Indian media, referring to investigations into the murder case in Udaipur, mischievously seeking to link the accused individuals, Indian nationals, to an organisation in Pakistan.”
He added that we categorically reject any such insinuations, which are typical of the BJP-RSS ‘Hindutva’ driven Indian regime’s attempts at maligning Pakistan including by externalising their internal issues through pointing of fingers towards Pakistan. Such malicious attempts will not succeed in misleading the people, either in India or abroad, he added.
The murder of Hindu man in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan sparked religious tensions in the area on Wednesday. The victim, a tailor named Kanhaiya Lal, was killed in Udaipur district on Tuesday by two Muslim men, who filmed the act and posted it online.
They claimed the act was in retaliation for the victim’s support for controversial remarks made by a politician on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The government suspended internet services and banned large gatherings. Police arrested the two men, who had identified themselves in the video.
In another video, they boasted about the murder and also issued threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while brandishing cleavers. A top Rajasthan police official asked media outlets not to broadcast the video of the murder as it was “too grisly to watch”.
Pakistan rejects Indian media claims
Kanhaiya Lal was denied police security despite repeated requests
The gruesome killing should be condemned but the way the incident took place it raises serious questions and doubts. It reveals that the whole incident was preplanned, from the killing of the Hindu tailor to the uploading of the video clips on the social media.
This Hindu tailor was arrested by police for uploading objectionable posts on the internet but he was later released. Ironically, the deceased had also sought police security but his appeal was rejected by the local government. Through this single incident, attempts are being made to portray whole Muslim community as militants in India.
Indian authorities, just to blame the Sikhs, had masterminded attacks on the Gurdwaras in Afghanistan. The Modi government should stop this game once and for all. The incident of the beheading of the Hindu tailor should be investigated thoroughly. Similarly, Indian government must stop the anti-Muslim campaign launched with the help of radical Hindus. The support of the Indian government to the extremist Hindus could result in such more incidents in the future. The timeline of the Udaipur incident has also raised many eyebrows. Ghous Muhammad and Riaz murdered the tailor of June 28 while TV journalist Muhammad Zubair was arrested for uploading the video on the social media on June 27.
The tailor kept his shop shut for whole week and demanded police security but no one paid heed to his repeated request. An Assistant Sub-Inspector of the local police was suspended from service and he is being grilled in connection the killing.
