Hours after a tailor was killed in Rajasthan's Udaipur for his social media post allegedly supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Muhammad, several political leaders condemned the incident and urged the state government to accord the strictest possible punishment to the accused.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to Twitter to assure that the accused persons would be "punished severely in court".
Stating that he was "deeply shocked" to learn about the "heinous murder", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "I am stunned by this heinous murder. Barbarism in the name of religion cannot be tolerated. Those who spread terror through this act of brutality should be severely punished immediately. We all have to defeat hate together. I appeal to all, please maintain peace and brotherhood."
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I condemn the gruesome murder in Udaipur Rajasthan. There can be no justification for it. Our party’s consistent stand is to oppose such violence. No one can take law in their own hands. We demand that the state govt takes strictest possible action. Rule of law must be upheld."
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "Violence and extremism are UNACCEPTABLE, no matter what! I STRONGLY CONDEMN what happened in Udaipur. As law takes its own course of action, I urge everyone to maintain peace."
'Need To Curb Rising Communal Hatred': Mayawati, Tharoor, Pinarayi Vijayan Condemn Murder
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, and Union Minister Anurag Thakur also expressed their condemnation for the killing.
'No Religion Approves of Killing Human Beings': Salman Khurshid, Rana Ayyub React
Senior Supreme Court Advocate Salman Khurshid, meanwhile, said that the "Udaipur killing is most heinous and regrettable irrespective of the provocation assumed. We cannot allow our nation to be torn apart in this inhuman manner. No religion approves of killing human beings. Let us reaffirm positivity of faith."
Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind condemned the heinous killing of a tailor in Rajasthan's Udaipur on Tuesday, saying such an act cannot be justified in any way and is against the religion of Islam.
In a statement, Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi, general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, condemned the "brutal killing in Udaipur apparently on the pretext of the insult to the Prophet" and called it against the law of land as well as "against the religion of Islam".
"In our country, there is a system of law, no one has the right to take the law into his own hands," Qasmi said.
The Indian American Muslim Council also condemned the murder.
Calling the killing the most barbaric attack, journalist Rana Ayyub called for an end to such incidents in India.
"This is so triggering. This is the most barbaric attack, and to record this on camera. And to think you do this in the name of Islam. The perpetrators need to be brought to book and be given the strictest punishment possible @ashokgehlot51. Please India, this needs to stop," Ayyub wrote on Twitter.
The Murder
Two men slit the throat of a tailor in Udaipur on Monday, saying in a video post on social media that they are avenging an insult to Islam.
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 – attacked him with a cleaver. The other man shot the brutal murder with his mobile phone.
The two men fled from the scene after the murder in broad daylight, and later uploaded the clip on social media.
In the video clip posted online, one of the purported assailants declared that they had beheaded the man and then threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well. In another video, the alleged assailant admitted that they “beheaded” the tailor and threatened the prime minister for lighting “this fire".
Indirectly, the assailants referred to Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader suspended from the party over a remark on Prophet Mohammad.
Additional police force was deployed in the city as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot appealed for calm.
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