January 22, 2025

Were The Udaipur Killers The First Sleeper Cell That Was Activated?

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-06-30 07:11:19

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The gruesome hate crime in Udaipur, shown to the world in a grisly video the murderers made, has rightly been condemned by all right-thinking Indians cutting across political and religious lines. There is no doubt that it was a terror attack as the crime was committed with the sole intention of spreading terror against those who supported Nupur Sharma (or denigrated Islam, as she had allegedly done). The disclosure that one of the murderers had visited Pakistan and had been in touch with Pakistanis (maybe his handlers) also shows that there might be an international angle to the crime.

The Centre has rightly handed over the probe to National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is more experienced in handling such cases. The investigation must focus on the fact whether post-Nupur Sharma, have one or more terrorist organizations, based in Pakistan or elsewhere, activated sleeper cells in India to carry out such terror attacks and whether Gos Mohammed and Riyaz Anasari were the first of such sleeper cells that are being activated. If there are indications that sleeper cells are being activated, steps must be taken to neutralize them before they can carry out such ghastly crimes.

The murder also shows that the local police are guilty of dereliction of duty as they could assess the gravity of the threat. Slain Kanhaiya Lal had informed the local police station about the death threats he was receiving but he was not provided any security. This proves that at the thana level, policemen are not trained enough to assess such situations. There must be systemic changes to prevent such crimes in future.

Also, all concerned must desist from indulging in blame games. Instead, there must be a concerted effort by all political parties and civil society to take all steps to prevent the matter from escalating. Suspending internet and imposing curfews and Section 144 are short term measures to prevent immediate escalation. The long term solution is to take steps to cool tempers, identify trouble makers and keep an eye on them. Violence is a vicious cycle and there will be many who will try to use the incident to spread hate in society, leading to further violence. The immediate and urgent need is to prevent this. Also, the investigation must be fast-tracked so that the killers are punished as per law within a couple of months.