Ban on public gatherings after Hindu slain in India

Fearing outbreaks of religious violence, police in the Indian state of Rajasthan banned public gatherings and suspended internet services a day after two Muslims posted a video claiming responsibility for slaying a Hindu man.

“We are under strict orders to prevent any form of protests or demonstrations scheduled to condemn the murder,” Hawa Singh Ghumaria, a senior police officer in the northwestern state, said on Wednesday.

Brandishing a meat cleaver, two bearded men said in the video that they were avenging an insult to Prophet Mohammad caused by the victim.

They also alluded to Nupur Sharma, a former spokesperson for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose remarks about the prophet earlier this month triggered domestic and international outrage.

Ghumaria described the bloody attack on Kanhaiya Lal in his tailor shop in the city of Udaipur as “an act of terror”, and said two suspects were being interrogated by federal investigators.

Two assailants slashed Lal’s head and throat while he was taking measurements, according to Bhawarlal Thoda, a city administrator in Udaipur.

Thoda said the tailor had been detained over a social media post in support of the BJP spokesperson that was traced to his cellphone, and that after being released Lal had told police that he was being threatened by some group.

Authorities said they had suspended internet services in several parts of Rajasthan to prevent circulation of the video shared by the accused.

“The mood is tense and almost all shops are closed today,” Thoda said.

The city of about 500,000 people is one of the major tourist draws in the desert state, and is known for its luxurious hotels, including the famous Taj Lake Palace.

In another video clip posted online, one of the assailants also went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their blade would find him too.

India has a history of religious violence, and thousands of people have been killed since the country became independent from British colonial rule in 1947. But Modi’s pursuit of a “Hindu first” agenda since coming to power in 2014 has stoked tensions in a country where Muslims account for about 13% of its 1.4-billion people. —