200 Muslims flee village after singer killed

Jaipur: Around 200 Muslims have fled from their village in Rajasthan after a Hindu priest and his friends allegedly killed a Muslim folk singer late last month, police said on Wednesday.

The police reported that the Muslim families are currently living in a shelter for the homeless in Jaisalmer.

Trouble erupted in Dantal village near the India-Pakistan border on Sept. 27, when a Hindu priest accused folk singer Ahmad Khan of making mistakes while reciting hymns to evoke a Hindu goddess.

Khan, 45, was a member of the Langa Manganiyar community that has been singing Hindu religious songs and spiritual verses in temples and at festivals for generations. The priest suggested changes to the hymn, leading to an argument.

According to police the priest, Ramesh Suthar, and his friends then broke Khan’s musical instruments and killed him.

“The news of the murder triggered unrest between Hindus and Muslims who have been living together for generations,” said Gaurav Yadav, a senior police officer investigating the case.

The 20 Muslim families who left the village have refused to return home- priests are powerful local entities who draw some of their influence from the accepted belief of their supernatural powers.

“We are being threatened. We fear for our lives we will not return to our village now,” said Chugga Khan, the dead musician’s brother.