Shambhu Lal Raigar, the main accused in the infamous Rajasthan 'love-jihad' case, has purportedly shot two videos from inside the the Central Jail in Jodhpur, wherein he claims threat to life from a fellow inmate. The video also shows Raigar justifying his killing of a labourer from West Bengal over "love jihad". The two videos, doing the rounds on social media, have stoked the fire once again in the case, with questions on how Raigar got access to mobile phones inside the jail.
Raigar, lodged in the jail after he hacked and burnt to death a Muslim named Mohammad Afrazul from West Bengal in December last year, claims he faces threat to life from an inmate named Vasudev, an accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. According to Raigar, Vasudev, too, hails from West Bengal.
In one of the videos, Raigar goes on to preach how the issue of "love jihad" has become "serious" and accuses the West Bengal government of not doing enough about it.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said they were investigating how Raigar got access to a mobile phone inside the jail.
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"It would be looked into how Raigar got access to a mobile phone and how he made the videos. The police have registered an FIR and are investigating the matter," he said.
The minister said that action against those guilty in the matter would be taken after the investigation. Vasudev has been shifted to another cell for Raigar's safety, he said.
"A separate FIR has been lodged and the search is on," Kataria told reporters in the assembly.
Raigar had killed Afrazul while, in a video, ranting against "love jihad", a term used by sections of Hindu activists to describe marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men. In the latest video, Raigar said he was "infuriated" over a "jihadist comment", targeting Hindu women, and that was why he had killed Afrazul.
The Jodhpur Central Jail administration said it had launched an "intense search operation" to find out how Raigar was able to make the videos using a cell phone. According to a preliminary investigation, Raigar could have used the cell phone of another inmate, but the jail authorities have failed to recover a mobile from the said inmate.
Jail Superintendent Vikram Singh said they were investigating the matter and had also reviewed the security of Raigar.
Singh said the presence of mobile phones inside the jail was a "serious matter" and added that the prison authorities were trying to find out how the phones were making their way into the prison.
Raigar was arrested from Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. His act of killing Afrazul and latter filming the act with the help of his teenage nephew had created a nationwide outrage.
(With inputs from PTI)