41-yr-old accused of active role in Kanhaiya Lal murder arrested by NIA

NEW DELHI: A 41-year-old accused of playing an “active role” in the conspiracy to murder tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Rajasthan’s Udaipur in June has been arrested, the ninth person to be caught in the case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the agency said on Friday.

NIA identified the man as Muslim Khan, 41, a resident of Pratapgarh in Rajasthan. A statement by NIA said he was arrested on August 10.

Two men, Riyaz Attari and Gaus Mohammad, hacked Kanhaiya Lal Teli to death on June 28 for supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s contentious remarks on Prophet Mohammed. The accused captured the killing on their phones and also issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they posed with the knives used in the murder. The two were caught hours later. NIA took over the case later on orders of the Union home ministry in view of the threat made to PM Modi.

Investigations have revealed so far that all the accused persons were self-radicalised.

Besides the Udaipur killing, NIA is also probing the murder of a chemist in Maharashtra’s Amravati district on June 21. The chemist, Umesh Kolhe (54), was also allegedly murdered for his social media posts supporting Sharma.

No organised gang or terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for both the Udaipur and Amravati killings. Investigators are also trying to ascertain if there is a link between the two cases.

Sharma’s comments on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate on May 26 triggered an international outcry and domestic protests.

Among the eight men arrested by NIA is Mohammad Javed, 19, the eighth man to be caught, who is alleged to have “played an important role in the conspiracy to kill Kanhaiya Lal by conducting reconnaissance and passing on information about Lal’s presence at his shop to the main killer, Riyaz Attari, prior to the gruesome attack”.

Attari is allegedly linked to a Karachi-based religious organisation, Dawat-e-Islami, and was reportedly in touch with people in Pakistan, the probe stated. As per the Dawat-e-Islami website, established in 1981, it is a global non-political Islamic organisation working for the propagation of the Quran and Sunnah.