Jaipur: The NIA on Thursday filed the chargesheet against 11 accused including two Pakistani nationals in the Kanhaiyalal murder case before an NIA special court in Jaipur.
The accused have been booked under sections 302, 452, 153, 295 along with the stringent UAPA and the Arms Act. Those charge-sheeted in the case are Mohammad Riyaz Attari, Ghouse Mohammad, Mohsin Khan, Asif Hussain, Mohammad Mohsin, Vasim Ali, Farhad Mohammad Sheikh, Mohammed Javed, Muslim Khan @ Muslim Raza, and Pakistani nationals Salman and Abu Ibrahim, both from Karachi.
Officials said since the judge of the special NIA court is currently on leave, the matter will come up for hearing on January 3. The NIA has charged all nine accused, including the main accused Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riaz, with murder, insulting and harming other religions and castes along with other charges Kanhaiyalal was brutally murdered in Udaipur on June 28. The accused also made the video of the murder viral on social media.
Kanhaiya Lal, 48, was killed with a cleaver inside his shop on June 28. The assailants claimed they hacked Lal to death to avenge an alleged insult to Islam. The killing and circulation of its video were to create panic and terror amongst the masses across the country, a spokesperson of the federal agency said. The case was initially registered at Dhanmandi Police Station in Udaipur district of Rajasthan and was later re-registered by the NIA.
"Investigations have revealed that the accused persons, operating as a terror gang-module, conspired to take revenge (against the alleged remarks of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad).
"The accused were radicalized and took inspiration from incriminating audios/videos/messages being circulated from within and outside India," the spokesperson said. The NIA said the accused arranged a deadly knife and murdered Lal in reaction to his Facebook post and attacked a co-worker in his shop in broad daylight.
"They made a video of the killing, released and made it viral. They also shot another threatening video with the intention of striking terror among the people of India," the official said.
