Hate crime accused deified on Ram Navami

Shambhu Lal Regar, accused of murdering a Muslim man, Afrazul, was deified in a procession taken out by right-wing groups on the occasion of Ram Navami here on Sunday, a matter which the police are now looking into, officials said.

Regar, who is presently behind bars, is accused of hacking Afrazul in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan.

A chilling video of the hate-crime had gone viral sending shock-waves across the country.

In the procession taken out here, out of the several tableaux, one was dedicated to Regar.

A man, pickaxe in hand, posed as Regar while another lay on the ground, posing as the victim. A banner hailed Regar as someone who tried to fight 'love-jihad'.

"Wake up Hindu brothers, save your sisters and daughters; Nation should be liberated of love jihad," the message, in Hindi, said. It hailed Regar as someone who tried to eliminate 'love-jihad'.

Shockingly, some of the organisers even defended the brazen eulogising of a hate-crime accused.

Mahaveer Singh, an office bearer of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, justified the inclusion of the controversial tableau in the procession.

Terming "love-jihad" a big and serious issue, the VHP leader said if the government did not take any action and came out with a law pertaining on this matter, the country will be on the brink of a civil-war like situation.

"The government needs to be serious and act before this issue pushes the country to the brink of a civil war," Mahaveer Singh said.

Regar, he said, was an under-trial and could not be declared a criminal.

Similarly, Hari Singh, an office bearer of Shiv Sena, who was also a part of the organizing committee, expressed pride in Regar's act.

He brought the attention of all Hindus to the issue of Love Jihad, which is a more serious matter than even cancer. He did it for the Hindu community and it wasn't wrong," he said.

Meanwhile, the police swung into action and began gathering information about the incident.

We have learnt about this tableau and begun an investigation into the matter," said a senior police official.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)