Jaipur: In a shocking incident, a labourer was burnt alive and video of the gruesome incident was uploaded on social media in Rajasthans Rajsamand district, police said.
The slain labourer, who hailed from West Bengal, was identified as Mohammad Afrazul.
Media reports said the gruesome murder was over alleged ‘love jihad’ - - -- a term publicised by the Hindutva groups to refer to Muslim men marrying Hindu women and converting them to Islam.
The video shows, the perpetrator, with a saffron teeka on his head, threatening with impunity in front of the camera: 'Those who will commit love jihad, will meet with the same fate.'
The accused who allegedly committed the crime in Raj Nagar has been arrested, SP Rajsamand Manoj Kumar told PTI.
He said that the accused Shambhulal Regar, a resident of Raj Nagar, was being interrogated.
In a separate video, Regar is seen justifying his act, saying he did so to save a girl from Love Jihad.
Afrazul’s family in Malda in West Bengal has demanded that the accused be hanged.
“We want those who killed my husband so brutally and showed it to the world be hanged. I want Insaaf (justice). He was only killed because he was a Muslim. Yesterday, at around 3 pm, we received a call from Rajasthan Police and were told that my husband has been murdered,” said Gul Bahar Bibi, the victim’s wife, to The Indian Express over the phone.
“We even spoke to him on Tuesday. He calls us every day. We do not know what love jihad is. He has grandchildren. They butchered my father like animals before setting him on fire. I want those who did that to suffer in the same manner. I have seen the video and the cries of my helpless father while he was being killed,” said Rejina Khatun, daughter of the victim.
Home minister Gulabchand Kataria condemned the incident and said that the investigation has been handed over to SIT for further investigation.
In the video, Afrazul is seen pleading with his murderer and crying for help while the accused keeps clobbering him with an axe and later burns him alive.
"The labourer died on the spot," police said.
According to the IG Udaipur Anand Srivastava, the accused was also seen shouting at the victim in the video.
The investigation is on and matter is being probed for further details, he added.