The investigating agencies in Rajasthan, including the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), will extend complete support to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that has taken over the probe into the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur on Tuesday.
Police in Udaipur registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the two accused, Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed, in addition to the Indian Penal Code provisions. Director-General of Police M.L. Lather said preliminary investigation indicated that the crime was committed with the objective of spreading “terror and fear”.
Mr. Lather said at a press conference here that Ghous Mohammed had links with Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami and he had visited Karachi in 2014. The police have detained three persons in Rajsamand district in connection with Tuesday’s incident.
Links with radical elements
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters in Jodhpur before returning to the State Capital that the killers seemed to have links with “radical elements” at the national and international levels. “Our experience says that such an extraordinary crime cannot be committed without a connection. A thorough probe will reveal the links and conspiracy,” he said.
Mr. Gehlot presided over a high-level meeting on law and order in Jaipur and instructed officials to maintain vigilance in communally sensitive areas. He said the five police constables who arrested the two accused at Bhim in Rajsamand district within six hours of the incident would be given out-of-term promotion.
Prohibitory orders remained in force in all districts of the State and suspension of mobile internet services was extended till further orders. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have given a call for a day-long bandh in Jaipur on Thursday.
Violent incidents
Stray incidents of violence were reported from several parts of the State on Wednesday. A police constable was injured when he was trying to control a crowd of protesters in Bhim. He was referred to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Ajmer in a serious condition. A CPI(M) worker, Shamsher Khan, and his family members were injured in an attack by a mob, allegedly led by a BJP Municipal Councillor, at his house in Udaipur.
There was stone throwing at a graveyard situated next to the Ashok Nagar cremation ground in Udaipur, where Kanhaiya Lal’s body was cremated. A violent crowd tried to set a religious place on fire in Jaipur city’s Khatipura area.
Mr. Gehlot convened an all-party meeting here late in the evening. A statement issued after the meeting said the heinous crime was an attempt to disturb social harmony and called upon the people to “act with restraint” in the present circumstances.
