By PTI
NEW DELHI: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) Tuesday conducted searches at nine locations in Udaipur district of Rajasthan in connection with the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal last month, officials said “During the searches conducted today at the premises of accused and suspects in the case, digital devices (mobile phones, laptop and SIM cards) and other incriminating materials have been seized. Further investigations in the case are in progress,” an NIA spokesperson said.
Kanhaiya Lal (48) was killed with a cleaver inside his tailoring shop on June 28.
The gruesome attack by Riaz Akhtari, also referred to as Riyaz Attari, on the tailor was recorded on a phone by his accomplice Ghouse Mohammad, and the video was posted online.
They said in a different video later that they hacked Lal to death to avenge an alleged insult to Islam.
They were arrested within hours of the killing.
Besides the two, against whom the evidence is their self-shot video, security agencies nabbed two more — identified Mohsin and Asif — who are alleged to be a part of the conspiracy to spread terror amongst the public at large.
Two more persons — Mohammed Mohsin and Wasim — were arrested subsequently for allegedly being part of the criminal conspiracy and helping the two main accused in carrying out a recce of the tailor’s shop.
A seventh accused, named Farhad Mohammad Sheikh, was the last man to be arrested so far in the case.
The probe agencies claimed they have found several Pakistani numbers on the accused’s WhatsApp accounts and said that one of the accused was part of some secret groups ostensibly meant for objectionable activities.
The NIA had on June 29 re-registered the case under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after taking it over from the Rajasthan Police.
The case was initially registered at Dhanmandi police station in Udaipur.
The NIA had said that the accused persons had circulated a video of the criminal act in the social media to trigger panic and strike terror among the masses across the country.
On Tuesday, a Jaipur court extended the police custody of Riaz Akhtari, Ghouse Mohammad and Farhad Mohammad Sheikh up to Saturday and sent the remaining four to judicial custody till August 1.
All seven accused were produced by the National Investigation Agency before the designated NIA court amid tight security on Tuesday.
An all-community peace march aiming at spreading the message of communal harmony was taken out in Rajasthan’s Ajmer on Tuesday, an official said.
The Ajmer Dargah Committee also issued an appeal against any form of speech, slogan, picture or video, which hurts the dignity of the dargah.
Religious leaders from different communities, including Hindu and Muslim, took part in the march that passed through areas having temples, dargah, gurdwara and other places of worship.
The march was proposed by religious leaders in order to strengthen the communal harmony in the city, Ajmer Collector Anshdeep said.
The move came days after videos of some provocative hate speeches by some “khadims” (clerics) of the Ajmer dargah emerged on social media following the brutal murder of a tailor in Udaipur.
“The march was attended by around 500 people from different communities. It passed through religious places like temples, church, gurdwara and dargah, and was welcomed by people,” the Ajmer collector said.
He said the march started from Subhash Garden and concluded at Gandhi Circle.
“The basic objective of the march was to spread a message of communal harmony,” he said.
The collector and police officials were also present in the march.
People were carrying the Tricolour in their hands.
The dargah committee pasted appeals inside the shrine banning any form of speech, slogan, picture or video.
Dargah Committee chairman Shahid Hussain Rizvi said, “If anyone speaks anything which is against the Indian law, then action will be taken.”
The appeal pasted in the Ajmer Dargah says, “It is appealed to all not to make any kind of statement, slogan, photo, video or any such act which is against the teachings of Garib Nawaz or hurts the faith and dignity of the Dargah Sharif, otherwise, legal action will be taken against you.
