Yet Another Muslim Killed by Hindutva Fanatic in Rajasthan, Half Charred Body of Victim Discovered

Adding to the pattern of violence against the Muslim community in BJP ruled Rajasthan, a 48 year old Muslim labourer was hacked to death in Rajsamand. The half charred body of Mohammad Afrazul, from Malda in West Bengal, was found in Rajsamand District of Rajasthan on Wednesday. Soon after, a video of his murder went viral on social media. According to the police, Shambhulal Regar, the main accused made inflammatory comments in a video recorded in a local temple shortly after the murder. Mohammad Afrazul lived in Rajsamand with his family. Shambhulal Regar, also a resident of Rajsamand, was arrested on Thursday. The video circulated on social media shows the accused hacking the victim with an axe, after which he makes statements referring to ‘love jihad’. Internet services have been suspended in the district to prevent sharing of the two videos, one showing the accused hacking the victim with an axe, and the other of the rant on love jihad.

Gulab Chand Kataria, the Home Minister for Rajasthan, stated to ANI, "It is shocking how he killed the man and made a video of it. Accused has been arrested and a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up for investigation in the case.”

Apart from allegations of cattle smuggling, love jihad seems to be a new justification for cold blooded murder. The murders of Pehlu Khan, Ahmad Khan, Ummar Khan, Zafar Hussain and Umar Mohammad show a trend of violence against Muslims. Pehlu Khan, Ummar Khan, and Umar Mohammad were killed by cow vigilantes who alleged they were smuggling cattle. Ahmad Khan was a folk singer who used to sing Hindu hymns at the temple where he lived. Zafar Hussain was a CPI(ML) activist who attempted to prevent municipal councillors from taking photographs and videos of women defecating in public. Most reports tend to view the murders as being ‘in the heat of the moment’. The ideologically motivated inflammatory statements before and after the murder of Mohammad Afrazul, much in the style of international jihadist groups, clearly show a pattern of killing Muslims emerging in India.