Pakistani national captured in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar after crossing the border to kill Nupur Sharma

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 19, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

 Digital Desk: A
24-year-old Pakistani man was detained near the India-Pakistan international
border in the Sriganganagar region of Rajasthan with a plan to kill Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Nupur Sharma after she made a contentious
statement against the Prophet Mohammad, according to police.

The culprit was taken
into custody by the Border Security Force (BSF) on the intervening night of
July 16–17, according to Superintendent of Police (SP), Anand Sharma. Two
knives, books on religion, food, and clothing were taken by the police from the
bag he was carrying.

The culprit was turned
over to the Hindumalkot police station, according to the SP. A joint
investigation team was formed after a first information report (FIR) was filed,
and they began the investigation, which was completed this afternoon.

Rizwan Ashraf, the
accused, is the son of Mohammad Ashraf and a resident of Pakistan's Mandi
Bahauddin district. According to Sharma, he entered India illegally over the
Hindumalkot international border.

"During the
initial questioning, he disclosed his plan to murder BJP leader Nupur Sharma.
He appears to have a religious motivation. He was brought before a judge, after
which he was detained by police for five days, according to Sharma. He further
stated that the accused was clueless as to Nupur Sharma's residence and how to
go there.

His connections,
according to the SP, are also being questioned. He claimed that as of July 18,
he is being questioned.

In accordance with the
Foreigners Act, the Indian Passport Act, and the Arms Act, a FIR has been filed
against the accused.

In FIRs and complaints
filed in connection with Nupur Sharma's remarks on the Prophet Muhammad, the
Supreme Court on Tuesday protected her from any coercive action. Senior
attorney Maninder Singh, who represented Nupur Sharma during the debate,
claimed that she had received life-threatening threats and that it was
documented that a Pakistani national had travelled to India to attack her. He
claimed that some accused extremists who are thought to be targeting Nupur
Sharma were recently detained in Patna.

In Udaipur, Rajasthan, on June 28, a tailor named Kanhaiya
Lal was fatally hacked to death by Mohammad Riyaz Akhtar and Gaus Mohammed for
endorsing Nupur Sharma's words. The suspects gleefully posed with the blades
used in the murder as they recorded the crime on their phones and threatened
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The hate crime shocked the nation, and the
perpetrators were taken into custody shortly after the incident. The National
Investigation Agency (NIA) team was then dispatched by the Centre to Udaipur to
look into the murder. The detectives are also looking into a bigger scheme that
might have involved persons from abroad.

Umesh Kolhe, a chemist, was assassinated in Maharashtra's
Amravati district a week before to the tailor's slaying over his social media
remarks.