Gatherings banned in Indian state after religious murder

AN INDIAN state has banned public gatherings and blocked internet access in an attempt to quell religious violence after the brutal killing of a Hindu man.

Two Muslim suspects have been arrested over the attack, understood to be the attempted beheading of tailor Kanhaiya Lal after he shared a tweet in support of derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed.

A video of the incident in the western city of Udaipur went viral on Monday, showing two men saying that they were avenging an insult to the Prophet.

Before they killed the tailor, the men also recorded a video threatening to attack Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, who has overseen the implementation of Islamophobic policies since his 2019 re-election.

Fearing the incident would spark retributory attacks on India’s Muslim minority, authorities in the state of Rajasthan have banned public gatherings for a month and suspended internet services until further notice, to stop the gruesome video being shared.

“We are under strict orders to prevent any form of protests or demonstrations scheduled to condemn the murder,” said Hawa Singh Ghumaria, a senior police officer in Rajasthan, adding that the crime had sent “shockwaves” across India.

Mr Lal had been briefly detained by police on June 10 after sharing an insulting post about the Prophet Mohammed on social media.

The post was initially written by a spokesman for India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

It is unclear if the men acted alone or with a terror organisation. Isis and alqaeda have vowed to carry out attacks in India, in response to the comments made about the Prophet Mohammed.