Man backs labourer ‘ killer’, held

Rana sought support for Raigar who had killed Afrazul from Bengal

Rajasthan police detained Updesh Rana in Bagru near Jaipur on Thursday. Rana said to have created a Facebook post asking people to participate in a rally to support of Shambbhu Lal Raigar who killed Afrazul, a Muslim labourer from West Bengal and circulated video of the killing.

“Rana was scheduled to leave for the rally in Udaipur on Thursday. He was taken into custody under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in Jaipur soon after he arrived from Uttar Pradesh, a police official said.

In his posts, Updesh Rana showed support for the murder and commented against “love jihad” — the term used by rightwing groups accusing Muslim men of drawing Hindu women into relationships, converting them and then recruiting them for terror activities.

Meanwhile, situation has deteriorated in Udaipur and Rajsamand districts following rallies and provocative slogans.

There is also intense online hate campaign seeking support for Shambhu Lal forcing the police to impose prohibitory orders preventing the gathering of large groups and stop mobile internet services.

In last few days, various right- wing groups started circulating messages that hailed Shambhu Lal besides communal spreading hate.

One WhatsApp group even promised to arrange financial support for Shambhu Lal’s wife Sita and circulated the details of her bank account, seeking donation.

As the posts spread fear among the minorities, the police arrested two men on Saturday from Mavli, a town in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, for spreading hate online. Cases have been filed against four others. messages