Man burnt alive in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district over 'love jihad'; police arrests accused, detains eight others

A Muslim labourer from West Bengal was allegedly burnt alive in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district for allegedly committing “love jihad”, said media reports.

The accused — who was arrested, according to News18 on Thursday— had shot a video of the act and uploaded it on social media. The police has also detained eight of the accused’s aides and a woman, said the India Today report.

In the video, the accused, identified as Shambhu Lal Regar, was seen beating the victim and later setting him on fire. The accused was also seen next to the burning body making threats on “love jihad”. Regar was seen saying that those who indulge in ’love jihad’ would meet the same fate, said Times Now report.

The half-burnt body of the victim was found near a hotel in Rajsamand on Wednesday, said The Times of India report. The police later confirmed that the body was the same as seen burning in the video, added the report. Agricultural tools used in the murder and the victim’s bike were found from the location of the murder, said an India Today report. The victim has been identified by some as Mohammed Bhatta Sheikh, the report added. [caption id=“attachment_3436922” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] However, The Indian Express  report said that the police identified the half-charred body as that of Mohammed Afrazul. “During preliminary investigations, we have come to know that one of the videos in which Regar makes the inflammatory statements was shot in a local temple a little while after he murdered Afrazul,” Additional Director-General of Police, crime, Pankaj Kumar Singh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. On 19 November, a controversial booklet and a pamphlet warning Hindu girls of ’love jihad’ were allegedly distributed at a stall in an Hindu spiritual and service fair in Jaipur, prompting the police to order an inquiry. The pamphlets, carrying a picture of a Bollywood actress, warned the people against ’love jihad’ and also claimed that two Muslim actors had left their Hindu wives. Amid claims that the material was handed out at a stall of Bajrang Dal, its coordinator Ashok Singh had said that it was not distributed from their stall. With inputs from PTI