A Hindu man in India who posted a horrific video online of him burning a Muslim man alive was fundraising to continue his campaign of violence against Muslims.
The perpetrator, Shambu Lal Regar, posted a video of the murder online along with his bank details for donations to finance his anti-Muslim campaign, police officer Anand Shrivastava said.
More than 700 people across India have donated 300,000 rupees (£3,500) into the bank account after the video went viral on social media.
Mr Shrivastava said: “The accused wanted to become a Hindu hero after killing a Muslim man, his main aim was to collect money after committing the hate crime.”
The video also showed Regar claiming to be a proud Hindu who was trying to stop a “love jihad” from taking place – a term used by Hindu extremists who accuse Muslim men of marrying Hindu women to convert them to Islam.
Regar has since been arrested on suspicion of chopping and burning the victim.
The authorities have frozen his bank account and are working to track down donors.
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The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who leads the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been criticised for failing to do enough to stop attacks on Muslims.
Muslims account for 172 million of India’s 1.32 billion population and Modi’s critics say Hindu groups linked with his ruling party are trying to marginalise them.
