Man raves against 'love jehad', axes, torches Muslim labourer

(EDs: Updating with CM's reax; clubbing related stories)Jaipur, Dec 7 (PTI) A Muslim labourer was hacked andburnt to death in Rajasthan's Rajsaman...

(EDs: Updating with CM's reax; clubbing related stories)Jaipur, Dec 7 (PTI) A Muslim labourer was hacked andburnt to death in Rajasthan's Rajsamand, leading the police totoday arrest the killer, seen raving against "love jihad"while torching Mohammad Afrazul in videos shared on socialmedia.

Chief ministers Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and MamataBanerjee of West Bengal closed ranks across the politicaldivide to condemn the attack yesterday on the 48-year oldworker from West Bengal.

The accused, identified as Shambu Lal Raigar, is seen inthe video ranting against "love jihad", a term used bysections of Hindu activists to describe marriages betweenHindu women and Muslim men, who they claim seek to propagateIslam.

Police said Raigar was arrested from Rajsamand, aboutfive hours from the Rajasthan capital of Jaipur, today.

"He is seen shouting against 'love jihad' in the videoand why he did so is under investigation," DGP O P Galhotrasaid here.

He said RaigarÂ’s minor nephew shot the video and has beendetained.

His minor daughter, who Galhotra said was suffering froma mental disorder, was with Raigar when he was arrested.

In the video, which went viral today, a man in a pair ofwhite trousers, a red shirt and white muffler is seen rantingagainst "love jihad". He is also seen leading Afrazul to adeserted spot and then attacking him.

The internet has been suspended in Rajsamand to stop thevideos from being shared on social media sites. Sources saidthere were fears the clips could lead to communal tension.

Raje described the killing as deplorable and Banerjeecalled the assailant inhuman.

"We strongly condemn the heinous killing of a labourerfrom Bengal in Rajasthan. How can people be so inhuman. Sad,"Banerjee tweeted.

SP Rajsamand Manoj Kumar said the accused attackedAfrazul yesterday with a sharp-edged weapon, poured keroseneover him and then torched him.

“This is among the rarest of rare cases and at the end ofa trial, we will seek death for him,” the DGP said.

Afrazul's relatives, who described him as the family'ssole earning member, demanded strict action against Raigar.

"We want a thorough investigation and the culprit to bepunished," a relative told reporters in Malda in West Bengal.

Galhotra said primary investigations revealed Raigar wasnot affiliated to any organistation.

"It is being investigated why he had that kind of amindset,” the officer said.

Chief minister Raje appreciated the action by the policeand directed that the criminal be prosecuted at the earliest.

“This is a deplorable act which needs to be condemned inthe strongest possible terms,” she said in a statement.

Her home minister Gulabchand Kataria, who described it asa shocking incident, told reporters in Jaipur that he hadasked officers to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) toprobe the matter when it was was reported to him last night.

Afrazul's family said it did not know why he was killed.

"We don't know the real reason behind his killing. Hewas the sole bread winner of the family. We came to know thatthe person who killed him had called him on the pretext ofgiving him work," a relative said.

Afrazul had been living and working in Rajasthan forseveral years.

The killing drew the ire of human right groups whichdemanded the resignation of Raje and and Kataria, accusingthem of protecting those behind targeted attacks on Muslims.

“Although the police have arrested the murderer ... it isimportant to reach the people who motivated him to carry outthis murder,” the statement by bodies such as the Peoples’Union for Civil Liberties, National Federation of IndianWomen, All India Democratic Women’s Association and MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan said.

The statement said this was the fourth such killing inthe last nine months, referring to the lynching of Pehlu Khanand Zafar Khan and the killing of Umar Mohammad by alleged cowvigilantes in Alwar. PTI SDA PNTBDS.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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