Udaipur murder just like past lynchings by cow vigilantes: Owaisi

Bhopal: Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder was an act of terror, just like the past killings of Pahlu Khan, Mohammad Akhlaq and Mohammed Bhatta Sheikh All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) head Asaduddin Owaisi said on Wednesday. He also blamed the Rajasthan police for no timely action after Lal filed a complaint, PTI reported.

Two men killed Kanhaiya Lal and posted a video on social media, claiming that they were avenging the insult to Islam.

Owaisi said, "Udaipur incident would not have happened had Rajasthan police been alert. I read in the media that Kanhaiya Lal was receiving threats after he was arrested and released on bail."

He pointed out that when someone from Hyderabad threatened suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, Telangana Police had arrested him. He added that the killing of Lal, as well as the past killings of Pehlu Khan, Mohammad Akhalaq and Mohammad Bhatta, all shot in videos and spread on social media, were acts of terror and hints at the increasing radicalization in the society.

It was in 2017 that a mob of cow vigilantes beat Pehlu Khan to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district. Akhalaq was killed in 2015 by a similar mob in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh's Dadri district. A migrant labourer, Mohamad Bhatta Sheikh, was killed in Rajsamand of Rajasthan in 2017.

When Owaisi was asked about the threats issued on Prime Minister Modi by the two who killed Lal, he replied, "It is condemnable. Modi is our prime minister. We might have ideological differences with Modi, but this doesn't mean that he can be threatened."

Further, the leader repeated his demand to arrest Nupur Sharma, saying that she deserved to be tried in a court of law for her objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad.