On Friday, September 1, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jaipur, granted bail to one of the accused of the murder of tailor Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur, committed last year. The accused, Farhad Mohammad alias Babla, was charge-sheeted under the Provisions of the Arms Act.
The counsel of the accused, Akhil Chaudhary, claimed that Farhad was not involved in the brutal killing of Kanhaiyalal, and that the sword which was recovered from him was a blunt one.
He claimed that Farhad Mohammad and his family are artisans involved in minakari. Mohammad and his family painted and decorated things and sold them in local marketplaces, according to the counsel, and Mohammad was not charged with UAPA or criminal conspiracy.
It is noteworthy that Mohammad was apprehended after a sword was recovered from him, last year. Advocate Chaudhary stated that the sword was bought by Mohammad in a Khadi mela a long time back, and that according to the forensic report, the sword was blunt.
TP Sharma, the NIA’s Special Public Prosecutor, opposed the bail plea, highlighting the finding of the sword in the accused’s possession, and that he had joined a protest gathering against the then BJP Spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, and had raised inflammatory slogans. On the other hand, Chaudhary stated that his client had attended the protest but did not lead the same.
Farhad, 31, was charged by the NIA under Section 4/25 (1B) (b) of the Arms Act of 1959.
Farhad was granted bail by special NIA court judge, Ravindra Kumar. Following Farhad’s arrest in July last year, the NIA issued a statement stating that Farhad was a close associate of the main killer, Riyaz Attari, and was actively involved in the conspiracy to murder tailor Kanhaiya Lal.
On June 28 last year, a poor Hindu tailor, Kanhaiyalal, was brutally murdered by two Islamists, identified as Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammad, in Rajasthan’s Udaipur. He was beheaded for posting a social media message in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The murderers had also made a video boasting about their heinous act.
The Jihadis, who had entered the shop pretending to be customers, slit Kanhaiya Lal’s throat and stabbed him around 26 times on his body, especially on the neck. They also recorded the murder and released it on social media platforms. After the incident, the killers released a video claiming responsibility for the act.
