Two more persons have been arrested on the charge of conspiracy in connection with the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan's Udaipur, the police said on Friday, 1 July.
"Two more people have been arrested in connection with the matter. They were involved in the conspiracy and preparation behind the entire crime, said Udaipur Range Inspector General (IG) Prafulla Kumar, as per news agency ANI.
The two persons, identified as Mohsin and Asif, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
The Incident
Lal was killed by two men over a social media post in which the former had allegedly supported former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
The two persons accused of the murder – Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari - have also been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
On 17 June, one of the men who claimed responsibility for the murder uploaded a video indicating that he would be committing the crime. In that video, the alleged killer had said that his video would go viral on the day he commits the murder.
On 28 June, the video of the brutal act also surfaced on social media. After the incident occurred, the accused persons made another video in which they threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The accused were arrested by the police on the same day and were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is currently probing case, said that the accused did not have links to any terrorist outfit, as speculated by some media reports.
The case is being investigated by a six to ten-member NIA team, under the supervision of officers in the ranks of inspector general and deputy inspector general.
(With inputs from ANI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)