Today, unknown assailants entered the residence of former Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari with a gun and knife concealed in sweet boxes, shot bullets at him and slit his throat, killing him.
However, soon after he was killed, many social media users expressed their glee over the brutal murder of a Hindu leader committed in broad daylight. Moreover, NDTV described Tiwari as a ‘fringe Hindu leader’.
Tiwari was jailed by the then Akhilesh Yadav government and NSA charges were slapped against him. Tiwari’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad’s sexuality had sparked widespread outrage and there were violent protests in several parts of the country demanding his beheading in December 2015 and January 2016. After being jailed for almost a year, Tiwari had got bail after the Allahabad HC had in September 2016 quashed the NSA charges slapped against him.
Now, NDTV is at the vanguard of the group trivialising the gruesome murder of Kamlesh Tiwari. In what appeared as an attempt to normalise the murder of Tiwari, NDTV’s official Twitter handle posted a tweet saying that “Fringe Hindu group leader Kamesh Tiwari” was shot dead. By pronouncing Tiwari as a fringe element, NDTV is already providing a line of defence to the assassins who carried out the crime.
Fringe Hindu group leader Kamlesh Tiwari shot dead in Lucknow.https://t.co/MHPR9X4jx4 pic.twitter.com/Yur2XJ4FLL
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 18, 2019
One Twitter user threatened Hindus with dire consequences insinuating that Hindus in Uttar Pradesh will meet the same fate as Vikas Yadav yesterday and Tiwari today. A few days back, a young man named Vikas Yadav was mercilessly tied to a tree and brutally assaulted by a Muslim mob, leaving him grievously injured.
Dear @Uppolice – this handle @Troll_Naakaa is openly treating Hindus of death after #KamleshTiwari – please immediately arrest her/him pic.twitter.com/L9G4AZi7bC
— Vikrant ~ विक्रांत (@vikrantkumar) October 18, 2019
One Twitter user Saif Anwar expressed his jubilation over the grisly murder of Tiwari and shared the photo of his murdered dead body, hailing those who committed this horrendous crime.
The followers of “We support Shehla Rashid” Facebook page also seemed to rejoice over the murder of the former Hindu Mahasabha leader. Many followers expressed delight and satisfaction over the murder while others abusing Kamlesh Tiwari with choicest of expletives commented that Tiwari ‘deserved’ this.
It is notable here that a Muslim religious cleric in UP had in 2015 announced a bounty on Kamlesh Tiwari declaring that whoever shall behead Tiwari will be awarded Rs 51 lakhs.
Several Islamist Facebook users, many of who draw their inspiration from hate-monger Zakir Naik couldn’t hide their ecstasy. They posted laudatory posts on Facebook hailing the murder while threatening people with a similar fate if they dare to speak against Prophet Muhammad.
Here is another one,he’s not only rejoicing over #KamleshTiwari ‘s death but also inciting ppl for another such killing? pic.twitter.com/N6kFtHplJG
— Amit? (@amit_manwani) October 18, 2019
This list of the people celebrating a violent and grisly crime is only a sample. There are many more people who are rejoicing over Tiwari’s murder.