Videos of Kanhaiyalal’s brutal murder of tailor Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur and beheading threats circulated by two ‘Khadims’ of Ajmer Sharif Dargah have resulted in a bandwagon effect. In Rajasthan, now mostly through social media, common people are being threatened with beheading.
In Bharatpur on July 6, two unidentified persons stopped Mukesh Kumar, an ambulance driver, threw a handwritten note at him and showed him a dagger, threatening to face consequences if he reports to the police.
The note read: “If you keep supporting Kanhaiyalal and Nupur Sharma, you will be beheaded within 10 days.” SHO of Kaithwara police station in Bharatpur Shiv Lahiri said that the note had ‘Sir Tan Se Juda’ addressed to two people, a grocery shopkeeper Satish Chand and a government school teacher Pramod. Police said, security has been provided to both the persons. Satish Chand’s son Mohit Khandelwal said, his father was not on social media nor did he share any post.
Several similar people have also received death threats in Udaipur, Jodhpur and some other places in Rajasthan. After brutally beheading in Udaipur, Rajasthan Police has started taking these threats seriously.
On Thursday, police in Udaipur arrested four men, Abdul Bari, Gufran Hussain, Shahid Nawaz Khan and Shoaib Jilani, for threatening a youth in Sundarwas area who had posted their comments on social media supporting Nupur Sharma. . On receiving his complaint, the police arrested all the four persons.
These are mischievous and anti-social elements who are trying to spread panic in the hearts of common people by threatening to kill them. Law abiding citizens need not fear. Notify the police immediately if you receive such threats. And the police should be asked to respond quickly.
In Kanhaiyalal’s case, he had complained to the police about threats, but the police did not act in time and he lost his life. Before people lose their faith in the state police, the police should take their action together. ‘Saudagars of hatred and death’ are active and the police should keep a close watch on such activities.
The situation has reached such an extent that old videos are being made viral to spread the poison of hatred. Some videos show people making calls and offering rewards for biting off their tongues or heads. Some people try to settle individual scores.
I have many such hate videos, most of which are old or fake or based on rumor or rumour, and a small spark can cause a fire. Everyone has to be very careful because some of these videos may get into your cellphone.
For example, on Thursday, a video from Mewat in Haryana went viral and the state government took immediate cognizance. The video shows several Muslims protesting, raising provocative slogans and a man named Irshad offering Rs 2 crore to the person who bit Nupur Sharma’s tongue. On investigation, it was found that the video is of a rally in Mewat, Haryana on June 12. The local police said the rally was taken out without permission and the police are now investigating the origin of the video.
A video has surfaced in Bareilly, UP, in which a person named Nasir is fighting with someone and is saying that he will behead Nupur Sharma and kill those who are supporting her. The police immediately arrested Nasir within a few hours.
Police in UP’s Moradabad have arrested three people for threatening a supporter of Nupur Sharma by saying that they will do the same thing that was done against Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur. After complaining to the police, three people, Shahnawaz Alam, Danish and a juvenile, were arrested. Police have found an audio clip in which these people were threatening.
In Mumbai’s Girgaum area, a 16-year-old girl received death threats when she posted her video on Facebook on July 1, three days after Kanhaiyalal was brutally murdered. In the video, he has described beheading as a big challenge for the future.
In the video, he neither supported Nupur Sharma nor made any comment against any religion. He only said, “If Kanhaiyalal’s murder doesn’t wake you up, it may be your turn next.” Soon after, an unknown person called her on her WhatsApp number and threatened to kill her. The girl lodged a complaint with the VP Road police station and the police are now on the lookout for the person.
It’s a good question as to why a teenage girl should talk about religion and politics. But the brutal manner in which Kanhaiyalal was beheaded has become a topic of discussion among teenagers as well. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect society, especially because in Kanhaiyalal’s case, the killers threatened him, committed the brutal act, and then recorded everything on camera to broadcast on social media , so that it can reach the largest number of viewers.
What happened afterwards was inevitable. Videos of threats and brutal beheading reached more and more people’s cell phones and each of them reacted in their own way. The 16-year-old girl from Mumbai posted her video on Facebook on July 1 and the next day on July 2, she received three calls on her WhatsApp number with the man threatening to kill her. Mumbai Police has deployed an assistant police inspector and two constables for the security of the girl and her family members.
There are people who try to settle individual scores as well. In Ghaziabad, UP, a person named Parvez had written a threatening letter to a businessman to implicate his neighbor Sadar Khan in Loni area, saying that Kanhaiyalal’s luck would be reversed if he supported Nupur Sharma. When the police investigated, it was found that the letter was not written by Sadar Khan but by his neighbor Parvez. The police immediately arrested him.
The tense situation that has arisen after the beheading and the subsequent threats can be easily guessed. A quarrel broke out between two youths in Bhudra Bazar locality in Karauli, Rajasthan on Thursday and on seeing the rumor of riot spread. Most of the shopkeepers downed their shutters, and residents brought their children home from school. Weapons were used from both sides during the fight, but rumors of a major riot were spread.
Spreading rumours, forwarding objectionable videos and making death threats has created a situation where such opposing forces can create division in our society. Remember, people are using the digital tools of the 21st century to take this country back to the middle ages of the 14th century.
Whether you are Hindu or Muslim, you should identify such people and expose them in the society. When forwarding any objectionable message on social media, think twice about the intention of the person who sent you. Think about the intent of the person who made the offensive video. If we are all alert, then a handful of bigoted and fanatics cannot harm the society by misusing the religious sentiments.
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