Violent Calls For Death, Fatwas: Story Of Murdered Kamlesh Tiwari’s Life After Prophet Mohammed Remarks

Kamlesh Tiwari a former Hindu Mahasabha leader and the current National president of Hindu Samaj Party was today murdered by unknown assailants in Lucknow’s Khurshidbagh area.

As per reports, the murderers first managed to gain entry to his office on the pretext of offering him Diwali sweets. After having him in sight, the assailants brandished sharp weapons to first slit his throat and then repeatedly stabbed him before fleeing.

Remarks On Prophet Mohammed And The Subsequent Storm

Till 30 November 2015, Kamlesh Tiwari was yet another Hindu leader. At that time he claimed to be the working president of the Hindu Mahasabha - which was disputed by other leaders of his party.

A few days ago Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan called RSS leaders homosexuals, the next day Tiwari responded by making a controversial remark on Prophet Mohammed. He is later said to have reiterated his statements following early protests.

This led to a furore among the Muslim community around the country. The administration acted swiftly against Tiwari and arrest him on 2 December. Later the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav led state government decided to book him under the National Security Act (NSA) and lodged him in Lucknow District Jail.

The news of Tiwari’s statement soon spread like wildfire and protests erupted in various parts of the country like Deoband, Muzaffarnagar Bengaluru, Delhi and West Bengal.

In Muzaffarnagar one lakh Muslims gathered in a major demonstration demanding the death penalty for Tiwari.

The protest which involved a Samajwadi Party leader Javed Ansari conveyed that their demands were simple. Death penalty should be imposed on anyone who insulted the Prophet and stricter laws should be imposed against religious leaders making hate speeches.

Even in cities like Delhi and Bhopal huge crowds marched through the streets demanding capital punishment against Tiwari.

Some Islamic clerics decided to take matters in their own hands. An Imam from Bijnor had promised to pay Rs 51 lakh to anyone who beheaded the Hindu Mahasabha leader.

One of the biggest flareups happened in Kalichak, falling under West Bengal’s Malda. On 3 January 2016 a huge Muslim protest rally passing through National Highway 34 turned violent and went on a rampage burning buses, BSF vehicles and a police station.

“I saw thousands of people, carrying kerosene, sharp-edged weapons, fire arms and Islamic flags throng Kaliachak’s Chowringhee area on 3 January. It was a really frightening scene”, a resident was quoted as saying.

All this while Tiwari kept languishing in jail and the National Security Act was revoked against him in September 2016. He was later released on bail. He almost spent a year in jail.

The Day Of The Murder

The murder happened around noon when two assailants who are believed to have been captured in CCTV cameras entered Tiwari’s office and reportedly began conversing with him.

Then Tiwari is said to have instructed his aide to to bring paan, who after returning found him in a pool of blood. He was rushed to a nearby trauma centre but was reported dead.

The circumstances around Tiwari’s death led to a lot of conjectures on social media but investigating officials have sought time before anyone can draw conclusions over what exactly was the motive behind the murder.

After media outlets reported the “ruling out of ISIS and bounty hunting” angles, top police and intelligence officials have clarified that no angle has been ruled out in the murder and all aspects have been probed.

As per journalists the terror angle in the matter is based on various inputs received during interrogations and authorities are expected to probe all angles before they make revelations in the matter.