Two Pakistani nationals booked in brutal killing of Udaipur tailor

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against 11 accused, two of whom are Pakistani nationals, in the case of the brutal killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur district of Rajasthan by two assailants on June 28 this year.

The investigation agency filed the chargesheet before the NIA Special Court in Jaipur.

The assailants circulated the video of the murder on social media to create panic and terror amongst the masses across the country, said the agency.

The accused persons are Mohammad Riyaz Attari, Mohammad Gos, Mohsin Khan alias Bhai, Asif Hussain, Mohammad Mohsin, Vasim Ali, Farhad Mohammad Sheikh, Mohammed Javed, Muslim Khan alias Muslim Raza. They all are residents of Rajasthan’s Udaipur.

Apart from them, two others are Salman and Abu Ibrahim. They are residents of Pakistan’s Karachi.

The case was initially registered at Dhanmandi Police Station in Udaipur and was later re-registered by NIA on June 29, 2022.

The NIA said that the Investigations have revealed that the accused persons, operating as a terror gang module, conspired to take revenge

“The accused were radicalized and took inspiration from incriminating audios/videos/messages being circulated from within and outside India,” the NIA said.

As per the investigation agency, the accused arranged deadly knives or arms and murdered Kanhaiya Lal in reaction to his Facebook Post and attacked a co-worker in his shop in broad daylight.

“They made a video of the killing, and released it to make it viral. They also shot another threatening video with the intention of striking terror among the people of India,” the NIA said in a statement.

The accused persons have been charge-sheeted under sections 120B, 449, 302, 307, 324, 153(A), 153(B), 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 16, 18 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 4/25 (1B)(b) of Arms Act.

Further investigations in the case are in progress.

Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, was hacked to death inside his shop in Udaipur by two men in broad daylight on June 28 for allegedly posting content in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading had sparked public outrage across the country.

The incident took place in Udaipur’s Maldas area on June 28. Soon after committing the crime, the two accused posted a video on social media boasting about the “beheading” and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s life as well, police said.

The two accused were arrested within hours of the incident. The assailants identified themselves in the video as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad

According to the Rajasthan Police, the main accused involved in the killing of the tailor in Udaipur were in touch with Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and one of them had also gone to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to visit the organisation.

Notably, Kanhaiya had also filed a complaint with the police about receiving threats. The victim reportedly had recently shared a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma– former BJP spokesperson who had made controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad.