Jaipur: In a horrific video going viral on social media, in Rajsamand - around five hours from Rajasthan capital Jaipur, a Muslim labourer was burnt after being beaten mercilessly to death by another man, who accused the victim of being involved in ‘Love Jihad’.
The accused has been identified as Shambhu Lal while the deceased, Mohammad Afrazul of West Bengal's Malda district, was a daily wage laborer from West Bengal.
"Love Jihad" is a term publicised by the Hindutva groups to refer to Muslim men marrying Hindu women and converting them to Islam.
While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has condemned the killing and called the incident "inhuman, the family of the victim demanded strict action against the killer who allegedly also uploaded the video of the gruesome crime on social media.
"We want a thorough investigation to be conducted into the incident and the culprit to be punished," a relative of Afrazul told reporters in Malda.
Afrazul'S family members said they did not know why he was killed.
"We don't know the real reason behind his killing. He was the sole bread winner of the family. We came to know that the person who killed him had called him on the pretext of giving him work," a relative said.
In the video widely shared on social media, the killer, with a saffron teeka on his head, is seen threatening with impunity in front of the camera: "Those who will commit Love Jihad" will meet with the same fate."
Shambhu Lal had allegedly brought the man to a secluded place on the pretext of providing him work.
As it could be seen in the video, he attacked the man from behind while continuously warning him against the practice of love jihad.
The victim tried his best to protect himself before falling down on the ground.
Once Afrazul got unconscious, Shambhu Lal poured petrol over his body and burnt him while saying that he killed him to save a woman from “Love Jihad”.
The police arrested the accused and taking measures to ensure that the heinous crime does not create communal tensions in the area.
It is suspected that a third person shot the video and then they circulated two clips on social media including WhatsApp and Facebook.
The state government has alerted the Rajsamand district officials and the local police to ensure communal harmony in the area remain intact.
Internet has also been suspended in Rajsamand to stop the circulation of two video clips posted on WhatsApp by the killer, identified as Shambhu Lal.
Rajasthan was recently in the news for lynching of Muslim farmers in the name of "cow smuggling".
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