India asks social media firms to remove content justifying killing of a Hindu

MUMBAI:

India has asked social media platforms to immediately remove content that encourages, glorifies or justifies the killing on Tuesday of a Hindu tailor, the government said.

A Hindu man was killed in his tailoring shop in a northwestern Indian town on Tuesday, and two machete-wielding men in a video claimed responsibility for it, raising tension in the area.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a notice issued late on Wednesday that the removal of the content was necessary "to prevent any incitement and disruption of public order and to restore public peace and harmony."

Fearing outbreaks of religious violence, police in the Indian state of Rajasthan banned public gatherings and suspended internet services a day after two Muslims posted a video claiming responsibility for slaying a Hindu man for alleged blasphemy. 

"We are under strict orders to prevent any form of protests or demonstrations scheduled to condemn the murder," Hawa Singh Ghumaria, a senior police officer in the northwestern state told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the crime had sent "shockwaves through the country.".

Read: Police in northwest India ban public gatherings, suspend internet after Hindu slain

The two men also alluded to Nupur Sharma, a former spokeswoman for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose blasphemous remarks earlier this month triggered domestic and international outrage.

Two assailants slashed Lal's head and throat in an attack while he taking measurements, according to Bhawarlal Thoda, a city administrator in Udaipur.

According to Thoda, the tailor had been detained over a social media post in support of the BJP spokeswoman that was traced to his mobile telephone, and after being released, Lal had told police on June 15 that he was being threatened by some group.