Killers must receive 'exemplary punishment': Shashi Tharoor on tailor Kanhaiya Lal's beheading in Udaipur

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday condemned the murder of a tailor in Udaipur and said the killers must receive "exemplary punishment".

Two men with a cleaver killed a tailor in Udaipur and posted videos online that said they are avenging an insult to Islam.

Taking to Twitter, Tharoor said, "I unreservedly condemn the horrific beheading of shopkeeper Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur by two Muslim youth, who then posted a gruesome video of the murder on social media." Bigotry and violence have no place in our society, Tharoor said, adding that swift action "must be and is being taken".

"The killers must receive exemplary punishment. No one should have any illusion that they can get away with such crimes, whatever the provocation," he said.

Tharoor also urged social media companies to take down the video in order not to inflame passions.

Police should also act against the instigators, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, have been arrested for the murder.

In a video clip, Akhtari declared that they had beheaded the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.

Indirectly, the assailants also referred to Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader suspended from the party over a remark on Prophet Mohammad.

Kanhaiya Lal, the tailor, was recently arrested by the local police over some remarks made on social media by him.