Udaipur beheading: No criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community: CM Ashok Gehlot, appeals to people to maintain peace

Image courtesy: ANI

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday (June 30) appealed to people to maintain peace in view of the Udaipur beheading case. Gehlot took to social media and tweeted, "I want to assure you that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community." Notably, the Chief Minister chaired an all-party meeting on the incident on Wednesday. Ashok Gehlot, who also announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the dependent family of the deceased, termed the incident a "terrorist act", adding that links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities. 

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured the people of the state that no one will be spared irrespective of their religion or status if their involvement is found in the crime, adding that he is bound to maintain peace. He also appealed to people from different walks of life including religious Gurus and social activists from different social organisations and sought their cooperation in maintaining peace in the state.

Udaipur beheading case | Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot appeals to people to maintain peace

"I want to assure you that no criminal will be spared irrespective of any religion or community," he tweets pic.twitter.com/nb6auWLBlT — ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022

He also asked people to dial 100/101 in case they found any untoward incident that may spoil peace and harmony in their areas.

On Wednesday, he termed the incident a "terrorist act", and said that links of the accused in the case have been traced to international organisations involved in illegal activities. The guilty will be given strict punishment without any delay, he added.

Notably, two men with a cleaver murdered the tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in Udaipur and posted videos online that said they were avenging an insult to Islam, triggering stray cases of violence in the Rajasthan city, a part of which was placed under curfew. 

The parties, including the BJP, unanimously said such acts have no place in a civilised society and demanded strict punishment for those involved in the crime, an official statement said. They also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony and said acting with restraint in this situation is the right way. A resolution condemning the incident was also passed at the all-party meeting.

Gehlot said the case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police are coordinating with the NIA. He also condemned the assault of a policeman in Bheem town. The cop was slashed with a sword during a protest march in Rajsamand district's Bhim town, where police used tear gas to stop a stone-pelting mob from advancing towards a mosque.

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi urged representatives of all parties to ask their booth-level workers to maintain peace. We all should set the example of Rajasthan in the country by maintaining peace, he said. He also suggested the prevention of cybercrime, monitoring of content on social media and creating a strong cyber intelligence system.

Those who attended the meeting include Arun Chaturvedi and Ramlal Sharma from the BJP, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Subhash Garg, RLP president Pukhraj. CPIM MLA Balwan Poonia, CPIM secretary Amraram, CPI secretary Narendra Acharya, Kisan Mahapanchayat leader Rampal Jat, independent MLA Rajkumar Gaur, and independent MLA Sanyam Lodha also attended the meeting.

(With PTI Inputs)