Film personalities including veteran actor Anupam Kher, South Star Pranitha Subhash, and director Ashoke Pandit have come out strongly against the gruesome murder of a tailor, named Kanhaiya Lal, in Udaipur by two men who slit the victim’s throat and later posted a video on social media where they claimed that they were avenging an insult to Islam.
Calling it “absolute terror,” Subhash, who recently made her Hindi debut with ‘Hungama 2’, tweeted, “I wish I had not seen the Udaipur video. The screams in the background will echo in our minds and haunt us for a long time to come. Or will it? #JusticeForKanhaiyaLal.”
In another post, Subhash shared a picture of herself holding a placard that read: “Hindu Lives Matter.” She posted the photo alongside the message: “Is anyone listening?”
I wish I had not seen the Udaipur video. Absolute terror. The screams in the background will echo in our minds and haunt us for a long time to come. Or will it? #JusticeForKanhaiyaLal
— Pranitha Subhash (@pranitasubhash) June 28, 2022
Is anyone listening? pic.twitter.com/ecu4tjAfYD
— Pranitha Subhash (@pranitasubhash) June 29, 2022
Actor Anupam Kher also took to Twitter to condemn the Udaipur killing. He wrote: “Horrified… sad… ANGRY…! #KanhaiyaLal.” Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted: “This is not the murder of a Hindu ‘tailor,’ but a ‘trailer’ of the killings of Hindus! #JusticeforKanhaiyaLal.”
Horrified… sad…. ANGRY… !#KanhaiyaLal
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) June 28, 2022
ये किसी हिन्दू “टेलर” की हत्या नहीं है, बल्कि
हिंदुओं की हत्याओं का “ट्रेलर” है! #JusticeForKanhaiyaLal
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) June 29, 2022
The incident has triggered communal tension in the Rajasthan city with a curfew being imposed. In a video clip, one of the purported assailants declared that they had “beheaded” the man and then issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife would get him as well.
Indirectly, the assailants referred to Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader suspended from the party over a remark on Prophet Mohammad. The men who allegedly carried out the daylight murder posted videos online admitting to the crime and were taken into custody by police. One of them identified himself as Riaz Attari.
