Tailor beheaded in India, protests erupt, internet cut off

A tailor has been brutally killed in India, sparking huge protests, with hundreds of police officers urgently rushed to the scene.

A man has been gruesomely killed in western India, sparking massive protests and prompting authorities to cut off the internet.

Kanhaiya Lal was allegedly partially beheaded by two men inside his tailoring shop Supreme Tailors in Udaipur, Rajasthan on Tuesday.

Video posted to social media appeared to show two men posing as clients before brutally attacking the victim with large knives.

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The victim Kanhaiya Lal was allegedly partially beheaded. Picture: Supplied

The killing was reportedly in retaliation for Lal’s social media post about comments made three weeks ago by a spokesman for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party about the Prophet Muhammad. Lal reportedly told police his eight-year-old son had “mistakenly” made the post.

37-year-old lawyer Nupur Sharma’s comments during a TV debate outraged Indian Muslims and sparked a diplomatic crisis between India and several Islamic nations.

Sharma has been suspended from the BJP and the party said it was “against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion.”

The comments by Nupur Sharma sparked outrage in Islamic nations. Picture: Facebook

Lal was arrested for “hurting religious feelings” after the social media post about Sharma’s comments, and was released on bail. He later sought police protection citing death threats, the Indian Express reports.

The attackers, identified as Mohammad Riyaz and Ghouse Mohammad, reportedly boasted about the “beheading” and made threats against India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video posted to social media.

The assailants were arrested in the Rajsamand district on Tuesday night, reportedly while trying to flee.

Widespread protests have erupted as news spread about the attack.

Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded. Picture: Supplied

Authorities acted swiftly, suspending internet access across all of Rajasthan for 24 hours.

Shops were closed and restrictions under India’s Criminal Procedure Code s 144 were enforced. Six hundred police officers have been sent to the region and police leave has been cancelled.

Mohammad Riyaz and Ghouse Mohammad were arrested. Picture: Supplied

A team of the India’s National Investigation Agency was also rushed to the scene.

A senior government official told the Indian Express police would investigate if the attack was terror-related.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called for people to maintain law and order.

“What has happened is extremely sad, shameful. There is tension in the country.

“I have been repeatedly urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to address the people and calm the tempers.

“Every nook and alley is volatile. People are in fear. The PM should appeal for peace. It will help,” Gehlot said, The Wire reported.

He also appealed for people not to share footage of the attack on social media, which shows the gruesome killing.

“I appeal to everyone not to try and vitiate the atmosphere by sharing the video of this incident. By sharing the video, the criminal’s purpose of spreading hatred in the society will be successful.”

Muslim clerics condemned the killing, called for the assailants to be prosecuted and appealed for peace in the country.

“The manner of the killing which was done in the tailor’s shop is a heinous crime which is absolutely condemnable. These are not teachings of Islam. The killers should be arrested, and strict legal action should be taken against them,” a group of clerics said, the Times of India reports.

Perceived insults against the Prophet Muhammad have sparked violent responses across the world. In 2020 French history teacher Samuel Paty was decapitated in Paris after producing images of the Prophet Mohammed for a class on freedom of expression

Activists shout anti-India slogans during a demonstration in Dhaka on June 10, 2022, to protest against former India's Bharatiya Janata Party spokeswoman Nupur Sharma over her incendiary remarks about Prophet Mohammed. Picture: AFP

Activists of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party march during a protest against India's Bharatiya Janata Party former spokeswoman Nupur Sharma. Picture: Arif Ali /AFP

There are fears the latest attack could intensify religious unrest in India.

There is simmering religious tension between India’s Muslim and Hindu-majority populations, exacerbated by the partition of India in 1947, with frequent riots and mob attacks sparked by incidents — and spread widely on social media.

Political parties have been accused of fomenting extreme nationalism that has led to violence such as the 2020 Delhi riots during which 53 people were killed.