A Pakistani national who crossed into India to allegedly kill former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her remarks against Prophet Muhammad, is being held in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district.
The man was arrested from an area close to the Hindumalkot border outpost on 16 July, at approximately 11 pm.
“We have handed him over to local police for further investigation. He was produced before a magistrate from where he was sent to eight days of police custody. We have informed the concerned intelligence agencies about him,” a senior official from BSF told news agency ANI.
At present, the man is being interrogated by a joint team of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and military intelligence, reported news agency ANI.
11 Inch Long Knife, Religious Books Among Items Recovered, Says BSF
After a patrolling team of the BSF found the man in a suspicious condition, he was immediately detained and a search was carried out on him.
"We have found an 11-inch long knife, religious books, clothes, food and sand in the bag from his possession. He identified himself as Rizwan Ashraf, a native of Mandi Bahauddin city located in Northern Punjab of Pakistan," the BSF official added.
The man reportedly also had an additional knife, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Sharma.
During the preliminary investigation, the BSF official said that the suspect told them that he crossed the border to kill Nupur Sharma as she had made controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad. He had planned to kill her after visiting the Ajmer Dargah, the official said.
Confirming that the man had come to India with an intention of killing Nupur Sharma, SP Anand Sharma said, "He had no idea where she lives, he was only so religiously motivated that he crossed over."
The controversial remarks made by former BJP leader Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate had triggered wide-spread protests across the country besides drawing international condemnation from Arab nations
(With inputs from ANI.)
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