Udaipur accused beaten up; cops get custody of 4
Sachin Saini
JAIPUR: A mob outside a Jaipur court on Saturday attacked four men accused in the killing of a Hindu tailor in Udaipur, while they were being escorted to a police van. The police, however, quickly put them into the waiting van and averted any major injuries. The court has remanded the accused in 10-day police custody.
On June 28, Riyaz Akhtari and Gaus Mohammed allegedly murdered Kanhaiya Lal with sharp knives because the latter had backed controversial comments by Bharatiya Janata Party member Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed. The two also posted online a grisly video of the crime claiming responsibility for the murder. Riyaz and Gaus were arrested the same day. Two others accused in the case — Asif Hussain and Mohsin Khan — were arrested subsequently for conspiracy.
The four were produced before a National Investigation Agency court in Jaipur on Saturday afternoon, which sent them to police custody till July 12.Outside the court complex, police had a tough time dealing with protesting lawyers and local residents, who tried to attack the accusing while shouting slogans like “Pakistan Murdabad” and “Kanhaiya ke hatyaron ko fansi do” (give death sentence to Kanhaiya’s killers). As police personnel tried to put the accused back into the police van, they had to jostle with the large crowd.
Meanwhile, the Udaipur district administration relaxed the curfew, in place since June 28, for four hours on Saturday after reviewing the law and order situation. The curfew will be relaxed for 10 hours on Sunday, the official said.
“Curfew in the city was relaxed from noon to 4pm today. Relaxation from 8am to 6am will be given on Sunday,” Udaipur collector Tara Chand Meena said. Mobile internet services, however, remained suspended in the area.
Protests against Lal’s killing continued across various cities of Rajasthan, with markets remaining closed in Kota, Baran, Alwar, Bharatpur and Bundi.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra met Lal’s family members and announced financial assistance of Rs 1 crore, collected through a fundraising initiative.
After paying floral tributes to Lal and meeting his family at his residence, Mishra told reporters that he had set a target of collecting ₹1 crore through the fundraiser but ₹1 crore 70 lakh have been collected and people are still contributing.
He said that ₹1 crore will be transferred to the family of Kanhaiya Lal, which will be used in repaying the home loans and for the education of his sons.
Mishra added that ₹25 lakh will be given to Ishwar, who was also present in Kanhaiya Lal’s shop and sustained injuries. Apart from this, ₹5 lakh will be given to constable Sandeep, who was injured by a mob in Rajsamand district on Wednesday when the police tried to stop an agitated mob moving towards a religious place with an intention of attack. Financial assistance of ₹30 lakh will also be given to the family of Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe who was killed in Amravati in Maharashtra, he said.
NIA on Thursday said it suspected the role of a “terror gang and not a terror outfit”.
The anti-terror agency, however, made it clear that there is a role of a bigger gang behind the brutal killing and that it was not just an act done by only two people, who were arrested by state police after the incident.
On Wednesday, the Rajasthan Police said that 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 also went to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to meet the organisation.