A man suspected of hacking another man to death and setting him on fire in an apparently religious attack in India’s Rajasthan has been arrested, police said on Thursday.
The suspected attacker also recorded the attack on video and circulated it on social media with a warning that those indulging in “love jihad” would meet similar fate.
Radical Hindu groups claim Muslim men seduce Hindu women and convince them to change their religion and marry them – something they describe as “love jihad.”
“The arrest came after the video, in which the attacker is seen hacking the man with an axe, went viral in Rajsamand district on Wednesday,’’ superintendent of police, Manoj Kumar, said.
The man, whom the police have identified as Shambhu Lal Regar, looked at the camera and justified the apparent killing, saying it was done to protect the honour of Hindus against Muslims.
“We have found a charred body on a roadside and identified it as that of Afrazul Khan, a 45-year-old Muslim daily wage labourer from West Bengal.
“Prima facie it appears to be the body of the victim in the video; investigations are on,’’ Kumar said.
The internet has been suspended in the region and people have been requested not to circulate the video.
“A suspect has been arrested. Probe is on. No one will be spared,’’ Gulab Singh Kataria, Rajasthan home minister, said.
Report says Rajasthan is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
