Ajmer Dargah Cleric Arrested For Incendiary Comment On Nupur Sharma

A cleric of Ajmer Dargah in Rajasthan was arrested today after he allegedly offered on camera to gift his house to anyone who beheads suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose remarks on Prophet Mohammad had provoked protests in India and condemnation from Gulf nations.

The Rajasthan police had been looking for Salman Chishti after an FIR was registered on Monday night over a video clip.

In the video, the authenticity of which NDTV cannot verify, the cleric says he would give his house to anyone who brings Nupur Sharma’s head to him. He is also heard saying he would have shot her dead for insulting the Prophet.

“You have to give a reply to all Muslim countries. I am saying this from Ajmer, Rajasthan and this message is from Huzur Khwaja Baba ka Darbar,” he said in the video, referring to the renowned Sufi shrine.

Police officer Dalveer Singh Faujdar said the accused has a criminal record, news agency PTI reported.

The office of Ajmer Dargah Dewan Zainul Abedin Ali Khan has condemned the video and has said the shrine is a place of communal harmony.

The views expressed by the ‘khadim’ in the video cannot be considered a message from the dargah, it said.

It added that the remarks were a statement by one individual and were highly condemnable.

Rajasthan is on the edge after the gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, shortly after he alleged that he had been receiving threats over his social media post in support of Ms Sharma.

He was murdered by two men who filmed the killing and said they were “avenging an insult to Islam”. Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad put out another video in which they bragged about the murder and also threatened to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both were arrested.

The state police said it would take tough action against anyone making remarks that may trigger communal tensions.