Hindu man killed in India for ‘supporting blasphemy’

Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu man, has reportedly been killed in Rajasthan, India, over alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammed.

Lal, a tailor, was killed in Udaipur district on Tuesday by two men, who reportedly posed as customers to enter his shop and attacked him while he was taking their measurements.

The victim was filmed while being killed and the video posted online.

According to the BBC, his killers claimed the act was in retaliation for the victim’s support for controversial remarks made by Nupur Sharma, who was a spokesperson of the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Prophet Muhammed.

Sharma was said to have made the remarks, considered offensive against Prophet Muhammed, on a televised debate in May.

Lal allegedly put up a social media post supporting Sharma’s comments.

According to the foreign newspaper, the two suspects, who were identified in the video, have been arrested.

The Indian government has also suspended internet services and banned large gatherings.

The politician’s statement had sparked protests which turned violent in some states of the country, and also caused a diplomatic role with several Islamic countries including the UAE, Iraq, and Libya, who condemned what Sharma said.

The killing has been condemned by prominent politicians across party lines in India.

Some prominent Muslim organisations have also condemned the murder.

“Taking the law into one’s own hands and killing a person by declaring him a criminal is a condemnable act. Neither the law allows it nor does the Islamic Shariah justify it,” the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said in a statement.

In Nigeria, Deborah Emmanuel, a female student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education, was killed in May over remarks considered to be an insult to Prophet Muhammed.

Videos of the student being stoned and beaten with sticks were shared on social media.

Early in the month, Ahmad Usman, a 30-year-old member of a vigilante group, was killed in Lugbe area of Abuja for alleged blasphemy.

The deceased, a Muslim, was accused of insulting the Prophet while arresting offenders of market regulations.

Some days later, Hannah Saliu, a woman identified as a sex worker, was lynched for allegedly keeping the Quran in her room, in Lagos state.