Amit Shah's claim of NIA arresting Kanhaiya Lal murder accused a 'lie': Rajasthan CM

Amit Shah made the claim while addressing a rally in Udaipur, the chief minister hit back at him and said he would probably be aware that the two accused were "active BJP workers". He also demanded an inquiry to expose the "BJP leaders" who helped the accused.

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the NIA arrested the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case was a "lie" and added the state police nabbed them within four hours of the crime in Udaipur.

Soon after Shah made the claim while addressing a rally in Udaipur, the chief minister hit back at him and said he would probably be aware that the two accused were "active BJP workers". He also demanded an inquiry to expose the "BJP leaders" who helped the accused. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was murdered on June 28 last year by two men who had accused him of insulting Islam after he allegedly posted content on social media in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma.

Referring to the incident, Shah told the rally in Udaipur that the Gehlot government did not even want to catch the accused and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had caught them. Gehlot sharply reacted to his remarks and tweeted in Hindi, "It is expected that people holding responsible positions will not do politics on a serious issue like terrorism but what Union Home Minister Amit Shah did in Udaipur today is an irresponsible act."

He said that Shah "lied" that Kanhaiya Lal's killers Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed were caught by the NIA. "The truth is that they were caught by Rajasthan Police in just four hours of the incident. This tragic incident took place on June 28, 2022 while the file of this case was transferred to the NIA on July 2, 2022," the chief minister said.

Claiming that the accused duo were "active BJP workers", Gehlot said Shah "should get an inquiry done to ascertain who were the BJP leaders who helped these two, who used to call the police stations for them." The chief minister also asked why did it take a long time to file a charge sheet in an open-and-shut case like this one and why have they not been punished yet. Commenting on Gehlot's tweet, the Congress said, "Home Minister Amit Shah did not hesitate to openly do politics and lie even on a serious issue like terrorism."

"This shows the mentality of BJP leaders, who have always kept their political gains above national interest," it said. The Congress alleged that Shah has completely failed to fulfil his responsibility and he should at least take care of the dignity of his post. (PTI)