Holding saffron flags and placards, about 7,000 people call for the death penalty for the two Muslims accused of beheading Kanhaiyalal Teli.
(Al Jazeera) – Thousands of people have marched through the Indian city of Udaipur, many holding Hindu saffron flags and placards, following the murder of a Hindu tailor, with many calling for the death penalty for the two Muslim men accused of killing him.
Police had barred public gatherings in the northwestern state of Rajasthan out of fear that it could lead to religious violence. But authorities in Udaipur, a city of nearly half a million people in the southern part of the state, decided to let a short march take place on Thursday.
Senior Rajasthan police official, Dinesh MN, told reporters that about 7,000 people joined the march, and that it passed off peacefully.
There have been protests elsewhere in India over Tuesday’s shocking killing, and they have also passed without any major incident.
Federal investigators have interrogated the suspected killers, who posted two video clips online, one showing assailants slashing the tailor around the head and neck as he bent to take measurements in his shop.
In the second video, two Muslim men brandished a meat cleaver while claiming responsibility for slaughtering the tailor, Kanhaiyalal Teli, saying he had insulted Prophet Muhammad.
The veracity of the two videos has not been confirmed.
