Scholars call for calm over Udaipur killing
compromising on security and safety.
“The safety and security of civil aviation is a major concern for all. The CISF has been doing a tremendous job. Now, we have deployed an advanced full-body scanner at the airport, It will not invade passengers’ privacy during security checks and will hardly have any impact on their health. After successful completion of trials, and evaluation of results, DIAL will install more such scanners as per the BCAS directive.” he said.
Body scanners have been under consideration for more
than a decade in India, however, concerns related to privacy, radiation, and false alarms have kept them away from being installed at the airports.
During the first trials held in December 2016, the body scanners raised false alarms whenever a woman wearing a saree passed through it.
In most of the cases, it was found that it was either the mangalsutra (a traditional piece of jewellery that married Indian women wear) or the metallic embroidery on a woman’s saree that caused a false alarm.
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Eminent citizens and scholars on Tuesday condemned the murder of a tailor by two men in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, and appealed to everyone to maintain calm even as the city remained tense after protests in the wake of the hate crime.
The two killers, Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari and Ghous Mohammad, hacked Kanhaiya Lal, 47, to death, capturing the act on their phones, and later issuing a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both the killers were arrested on Tuesday from Rajsamand, about 160km away from Udaipur.
In Delhi, several right-wing groups said they will hold a protest on Wednesday to condemn the killing. The Delhi Police on Tuesday said additional personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas such as Jahangirpuri, which witnessed communal violence in April; north-east Delhi, where communal riots broke out in 2020, and Muslim-dominated areas of Okhla and Jamia Nagar in southeast Delhi and the Walled City.
Social psychologist Ashis Nandy, who has worked extensively on issues related to violence, said it is important to maintain restraint — even more today. “The level of violence is increasing today — in the form of action or speech. It has increased in recent years. I am not saying this increased after the BJP came to power. But in the last few years, violence is becoming the main language. Instead of pacifying the angry, people introduce counter violence. This is becoming the norm. The country will head south to the dark ages if this continues.”
The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Fatehpuri mosque, Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, also an Islamic scholar, described the killing as not just “unlawful” but also “un-islamic”.
“I have no words to condemn what happened in Udaipur. How can any person be a judge and partake in such a horrible act? If you have a problem with any person, he/she should inform the police. The Quran does not preach about such a horrible crime. The Prophet does not endorse this act. What they have done today does not represent the Muslims or
What they have done today does not represent Islam. They should be punished as per the law.
Imam, Fatehpuri Masjid
The Prophet does not need people like them to defend him. No religion will tell you to kill a human being. professor of
History
Islam. They should be punished as per the law.”
He added that it was the most heinous crime and no person should come out in support of the act.
Investigating officials said that the tailor in Udaipur had recently put out a message supporting suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Delhi Police have filed an FIR against Sharma for her inflammatory remarks.
Retired IPS officer, Prakash Singh, who served as director general of Uttar Pradesh Police and CRPF, said incidents such as these “are not good for the country’s internal security”.
“It is important to maintain peace for the sake of the country. It is incidents like these that external forces take advantage of. The incident is a result of hate campaigns by people from all groups. People announcing threats or rewards if someone is killed is becoming common. How do they get away after making such statements? A theft or a rape is crime against someone’s body. Making such extremist speeches and issuing threats is a crime against humanity. This is not good for social or internal security. Citizens should be more careful.”
Eminent history professor, S Irfan Habib, said no religion allows such a crime.
“You cannot do anything in the name of religion. The Prophet does not need people like them to defend him. No religion will tell you to kill a fellow human being. It is you as an individual who decided to commit such a crime. The Prophet is powerful enough to defend himself. Any person picking up arms to defend the gods is not justified. Violence can never be a solution. Making a video and then announcing it. This is a despicable crime against humanity. This should be condemned. Don’t use religion to justify crime. Nobody can justify, and nobody should justify this. This is only going to add to fear. This sort of a thing cannot be done in the name of religion, whether by Hindus or Muslims,” Habib added.
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