On the night of June 30, Udaipur Police made two fresh arrests in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case. The arrested accused, identified as Mohsin and Asif, have been charged with plotting the brutal beheading of the Hindu tailor for supporting Nupur Sharma.
#UdipurMurderCase के दो और आरोपी गिरफ़्तार, मोहसिन और आसिफ़ पर हत्या की साज़िश का आरोप #KanhaiyaLalCase #JusticeForKanhaiya #KanhaiyaLal @ritikasinghs pic.twitter.com/mCncwcmnGQ
— News18 India (@News18India) July 1, 2022
Mohsin and Asif are currently being interrogated along with the other arrested accused, Mohammed Riyaz Akhtar and Mohammed Gaus, the two Islamists who had carried out the ISIS-style execution on June 28 and released a video gloating over the brutal killing of Kanhaiya Lal.
After receiving the interim report, the SIT has also increased the sections under which the accused have been charged. Arms Act has been added in the case after the weapon was found. IPC Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) was also added after the names of the conspirators came to the fore. IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) have also been included in the FIR.
According to reports, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), that has taken over the investigation, will be filing an application in the Special NIA Court in Jaipur shortly to seek the custody of the accused. As of now, the two prime accused Mohammed Riyaz Akhtar and Mohammed Gaus have been shifted to Ajmer High-security jail.
#WATCH Rajasthan | The two perpetrators of Udaipur tailor killing being brought to Ajmer High-Security Jail pic.twitter.com/py91iPZQ9h
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 30, 2022
According to authorities, the inquiry has thus far revealed that Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Gaus were not responsible for the massacre alone; rather, they were part of a group that included more than a dozen other Islamists.
For a very long time, these Islamists discussed the news of the Hindu-Muslim conflict on their social media group. They had been preparing to accomplish something significant for a while. Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Gaus envisioned creating an Islamic State in India, similar to ISIS. Both accused admitted to regularly watching ISIS and Taliban videos.
Two prime accused confessed to working for Pakistan-backed sleeper cell
They considered Hindus as ‘kaafirs’ (infidels), and their sole purpose in carrying out this beheading was to terrorize Hindus. Post Nupur Sharma’s remark, when Islamists started unleashing mayhem in several parts of the nation, the accused saw it as an opportunity to become a hero of their religion. They thought Kanhaiya Lal would be the easiest target given his response to Nupur Sharma’s remark.
Notably, the Kanhaiya Lal murder case has been taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after a Pakistan link emerged. During a press conference on Wednesday, Director General of Police (DGP) ML Lather confirmed that one of the two accused, Ghouse Mohammad, who carried out the brutal murder of a tailor in Udaipur has links with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and had visited Karachi in 2014.
Meanwhile, Republic TV quoted sources as saying that the accused allegedly visited Karachi twice and spent about 45 days in the Islamic country before returning to India and carrying out the heinous murder.
Udaipur cops reshuffled after Congress govt led by Ashok Gehlot faces criticism
Meanwhile, the Ashok Gehlot administration has transferred 32 IPS personnel, including the Inspector General and Superintendent of Police of Udaipur, following harsh criticism for its handling of the case of the gruesome murder of the Hindu man.
Notably, the Udaipur police have came under criticism for not providing security to Kanhaiya Lal after he complained of threats over a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma. He was arrested by police for supporting Nupur Sharma, and after he was released on bail, he had started getting threats, and was forced to keep his shop. But despite multiple requests, the police had refused to provide him security or restrain the Islamists who were threatening him.
Now, as per reports, the SPs of 10 districts including Udaipur have been transferred in the list issued by the department late on Thursday night.
Udaipur killing: 32 senior cops including IPS officers transferred amid criticism https://t.co/XlDDtfCWeC #IPSofficerstransferred #MohammadRiyazAkhtarivideo pic.twitter.com/OYZGJhkrnD
— Oneindia News (@Oneindia) July 1, 2022
It is astounding to see, however, that Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot was seen patting himself on the back upon the ‘swift’ arrest of the killers of Kanhaiya Lal, despite receiving widespread criticism for the apathy shown by the state administration leading to the horrifying beheading of the Hindu man. Talking to the media, Gehlot said, “We found out within one night that this case has connections internationally. This tells us that this incident is an act of terror. This has nothing to do with two religions fighting with each other.”
It may be recalled how in a video that emerged on June 29, a day after Kanhaiya Lal was executed in broad daylight by the two Islamists who entered his shop posing as customers, the family of the slain Kanhaiya Kumar called Ashok Gehlot a “slave of Muslims”.
On being asked what she would like to tell the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, Kanhaiya Lal’s sister said, “I don’t want to say anything to him. He is the number 1 slave of Muslims”.
On Thursday, after the statements of the family and other Hindu organisations who have been protesting against the brutal murder, CM Ashok Gehlot finally decided to meet the family of slain Kanhaiya Lal. However, there too, while talking to the media, Gehlot glossed over the Islamist communal crime as an ‘act of terror’ with connections outside the country.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had, however, dismissed the ‘terror outfit’ angle in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case. On June 30 the probing agency denied the involvement of any terrorist organization in the brutal murder of a Hindu tailor by Islamists that took place on 28th June 2022 in Udaipur.
By calling it merely an act of ‘terror’ with international linkages, Gehlot whitewashed the fact that the incident was an Islamic act of terror. The religious angle in the case cannot be subsumed as admittedly it was revenge for the supposed ‘blasphemy’ committed by Kanhaiya Lal in supporting Nupur Sharma.
Moreover, with the assassination of Kanhaiya Lal, the Islamist fanatics have given a signal that they would murder anyone who is declared a blasphemer. Gehlot’s whitewashing of the Islamist violent act has hence come unwarranted.
