The two accused – Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari – involved in the murder of Udaipur-based tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Udaipur court on Thursday, 30 June, reported Livelaw.
Earlier in the day, 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.
"Some media reports about the links of the two accused with some terrorist outfit is based on speculation. Preliminary inquiry suggests that there may not be any terrorist group involved in the murder but a terror gang," the NIA said.
Further, the agency which took over the case on Wednesday, 29 June, said that more people might be involved in the murder. The NIA added that "there will be a bigger group," as per news agency ANI.
The two accused will be presented in a special NIA court in Jaipur by 5 pm on Thursday or Friday, the NIA said, adding that they will be questioned in Rajasthan and not in Delhi.
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.
What Happened in Udaipur?
Kanhaiya Lal Teli was murdered on Tuesday afternoon, 28 June by two men for posting a social media post, allegedly supporting the controversial remarks made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad.
On 17 June, one of the men who claimed responsibility for the murder published 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 Tuesday, 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 PM Modi. The accused – Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari – were arrested by the police on the same day.
Treating the Udaipur murder as a terror incident, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. The state police has been assisting the agency in the probe.
The MHA said that possible international links and involvement of terrorist organisations in the case would be thoroughly investigated. Three more men, with whom the main accused were in contact, have been taken into custody.
Rajasthan DGP ML Lather had said on Wednesday that co-accused Gaus Mohammad has links with the Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami organisation.
On Wednesday, Kanhaiya Lal's funeral was held in Udaipur in the presence of a large number of people, amid a curfew in different parts of the city. His family has demanded that both the accused be sentenced to the death penalty.
(With inputs from ANI and Livelaw.)
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