Hate- crime accused glorified on Ram Navami
◗ Shambhu Lal Raiger, accused of murdering a Muslim man, Afrazul, was deified in a procession taken out by right- wing groups on the occasion of Ram Navami in Jodhpur on Sunday Jodhpur, March 27: In a disturbing development, Shambhu Lal Raiger, accused of murdering a Muslim man, Afrazul, was deified in a procession taken out by rightwing groups on the occasion of Ram Navami here on Sunday, a matter which the police is now looking into, officials said.
Raiger, who is presently behind bars, is accused of hacking Afrazul in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. What had made the ‘ hate- crime’ all the more shocking was that it was committee on camera and the chilling video- clip had then gone viral on- line. In the procession, out of several tableaux, one was dedicated to Raigar. A man, impersonating the murderaccused posed with a pickaxe in his hand and another posed as the victim and lay on the ground. A flex message hailed the hate crime accused as someone who had tried to fight ‘ lovejihad’. “Wake up Hindu brothers, save your sister and daughter; Nation should be liberated of love jehad,” the message, in hindi, said.
It hailed Shambhu as someone who tried to eliminate ‘ love- jihad’.
Shockingly, some of the organisers even defended the brazen eulogising of a hate- crime accused.
Mahaveer Singh, an office bearer of Vishva Hindu Parishad, justified the inclusion of the controversial tableax in the procession. Terming “love- jihad” a big and serious issue, the VHP leader said if the government did not take any action and came out with a law pertaining on this matter, the country will be on the brink of a civilwar like situation.
“The government needs to be serious and act before this issue pushes the country to the brink of a civil war,” Mahaveer Singh said.
Regar, he said, was an under- trial and could not be declared a criminal.
Similarly, Hari Singh, an office bearer of Shiv Sena, who was also a part of the organizing committee, expressed pride in Regar’s act.