Rajasthan asked to Pehlu Khan murder suspect's 'internet hate videos'

Court asks Shambhu Lal Raigar to state why he should not be transferred to Delhi's Tihar jail or any other prison of Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court has asked the Rajasthan government to explain how a man imprisoned in a Jodhpur jail for allegedly murdering Muslim labourer Pehlu Khan uploaded hate speech videos on the internet.

The court also asked Shambhu Lal Raigar to state why he should not be transferred to Delhi's Tihar jail or any other prison of Rajasthan.

"The State shall, in particular, explain whether a video was uploaded from within the jail premises by the newly added respondent and, if so, how that was possible," said a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, who appeared for Gulbahar Biwi, Khan’s wife, said Raigar had uploaded several videos on the internet. Raigar allegedly killed Khan on December 6 last year.

The Rajasthan government’s lawyer said she had found Internet service providers had taken down such videos.

Jaising however refuted the claims and said the videos were still on the internet. The bench then asked Rajasthan’s lawyer to verify whether the videos uploaded by Raigar from the jail were still available on the Internet and posted the matter for further hearing on January 21.

The apex court had on April 2 sought response from the CBI and the Rajasthan government on a plea seeking transfer of Raigar to Tihar jail. Bibi said the prime accused had recently uploaded videos on social networking sites.

The apex court had on February 16 directed the CBI to seek instructions on a plea of the widow seeking an independent probe into the murder. It had asked the lawyer appearing for the agency to take appropriate instructions on conducting the probe and providing of adequate compensation sought by the petitioner.