Indian police nab ‘masterminds’ behind execution of Hindu tailor

Indian police have made fresh arrests in the case of the execution of a Hindu tailor in Rajasthan, a murder that stoked unease between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority and led to a clampdown on protests and the Internet to prevent tensions from escalating.

UDAIPUR (India) • Three senior police officials said yesterday two Muslim men based in the north-western state were held for planning the tailor’s murder last week in his shop in Udaipur, a popular tourist destination dotted with lakes and palace hotels. “We have now arrested the two masterminds,” said Mr Prafulla Kumar, one of the officials.

Mr Kumar said Internet services were being gradually restored, and security forces continued to be on alert following the murder, carried out by two Muslim men already under arrest who filmed the act and posted it online.