Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder accused Mohammed Javed granted bail

The Rajasthan High Court (HC) on Thursday, September 5, granted bail to Mohammed Javed, one of the accused in the Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder case. Kanhaiya Lal was hacked to death in broad daylight outside his shop in Udaipur. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested Mohammed Javed nearly a month after he and three others killed Kanhaiya Lal in June 2022.

The case: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma had given some controversial statements against on Prophet Mohammed, resulting in a clash between those who supported her and those who massively protested against her – Kanhaiya Lal was among the former group.

On June 28, 2022, tailor Kanhaiya Lal was working in his shop when he was attacked and beheaded by Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed.

They also captured the brutal killing on a video and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two were arrested hours after the crime. Mohammed Javed was arrested nearly a month later on July 22, 2022.

It was Mohammed Javed who had conducted a recce and passed the information about Kanhaiya Lal's presence at his shop to Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed before the killing.

Ghous Mohammed, one of Kanhaiya's killers, told interrogators that the decision to kill the tailor was made at a meeting on June 20, but those who attended the meeting deny that such a plan was discussed. He revealed that he had volunteered to behead Kanhaiya Lal over his support to Nupur Sharma while others provide financial support to his family after the crime.

The police had also found a sword during a search at his house.

In February 2024, a special NIA court had framed charges, including under the anti-terror law UAPA, against the accused in the murder case of Kanhaiya Lal.

The charges were framed in the NIA court under various IPC sections including 302 (murder), 452 (trespassing), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.