According to Rajasthan Police authorities quoted in a story by Dainik Bhaskar, it is not clear yet who was instructing Mohammed Riyaz and Mohammed Gaus but the inquiry so far has revealed that many more persons were involved in the gruesome murder and that this murder was organised at the command of someone.
It has also been revealed that the assassins targeted not just Kanhaiya Lal, but also numerous individuals who commented on social media in favour of Nupur Sharma. Their destiny was also decreed to be the same as Kanhaiya Lal’s. The operators who handed on the directions for the crime also trained the killers in this case.
According to the early investigation, the handlers of the murderers had specifically instructed them to not shoot the Hindus who were supporting Nupur Sharma, but to behead them ISIS-style and click a video of it. The aim of this was to create fear and panic amongst the Hindu population with the gruesome imagery of the beheading.
Reportedly, the Bhaskar team also visited the site of SK Engineering, a company where the two had allegedly made the weapons used in the beheading. Mohammad Gaus was a welder and he was the one who reportedly made the weapon. Further, the videos that were shot before and after the murder were taken in this factory itself. Several weapons have been recovered from this factory, according to the Bhaskar report.
Plan to kill a businessman in Udaipur
Early investigations, according to the report, have shown that the murders of Kanhaiya Lal, Mohammed Riyaz, and Mohammed Gaus had intended to kill a businessman in Udaipur who had shared a post on social media supporting Nupur Sharma. On June 7, businessman Nitin Jain admitted to unintentionally sharing a post with Nupur Sharma’s reference. A complaint was also filed against him for disturbing the communal harmony, and he was detained by police.
Since June 9, 7 people were conducting Recce at his establishment on a regular basis. On June 11, these terrorists planned to execute Nitin. However, out of fear, Nitin stopped visiting the shop and moved away from Udaipur to another city.
Bike with number plate 2611
Gaus and Riyaz had arrived on a motorcycle to assassinate Kanhaiya Lal. Interestingly, the bike’s licence plate had the shocking number 2611, the date of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Both had left the bike at a street corner 70 metres away from the shop of Kanhaiya Lal so that they could quickly flee after killing him.
Following the murder, both took the bike and rode it to a garage in Devgarh. Both had intended to stay there, but the garage owner refused. Following that, both of them hopped on the bike and headed towards Ajmer. They intended to escape to Ajmer, but the police apprehended both of them beforehand. The bike is now in police custody.
Disconnected CCTV cameras
Kanhaiya Lal had installed CCTV cameras at his shop 6 days ago. His wife Yashoda told that Kanhaiya Lal was running very upset for the past 15 days. Continuous recce was being done at and near his shop. They were receiving threats every day. It is because of all this, that Kanhaiya Lal got CCTV cameras installed at his shop.
Riyaz and Gaus came to know about this, so they disconnected the connection of CCTV before entering the shop. The CCTV was not operational during the incident.
WhatsApp group to continue killings
During the inquiry, it was discovered that Riyaz and Gauss were on their way to Ajmer to record the third video linked to the assassination. Both intended for the third video to become viral after the murder in order to induce terror. The NIA is investigating where and with whom the two planned to stay in Ajmer.
Riyaz and Gauss had many WhatsApp connections with the youth. They hoped that if the police apprehended them after killing Kanhaiya Lal, other accomplices would continue to kill those who supported Nupur Sharma in the same way, which is why they recorded a video to urge their accomplices before killing Kanhaiya Lal. Riyaz stated in the video that he will be captured, but that the killings should continue.
