On June 28, Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari and Gaus Mohammed attacked tailor Kanhaiya Lal with a machete because he had defended former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments about Prophet Mohammed. They then posted a video to social media, claiming they were retaliating for an insult to Islam and inciting racial unrest in Rajasthan.
On Tuesday, amid heavy security, the seven defendants—Akhtari, Gaus, Mohsin, Asif, Mohammad Mohsin, Wasim Ali, and Farhad Mohammad Sheikh—were produced in court.
According to special public prosecutor TP Sharma, the court committed Akhtari, Gaus, and Sheikh to the custody of the NIA while placing the other four in judicial custody.
In the Udaipur tailor murder case, the NIA court in Jaipur committed three defendants—including the primary suspects Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari and Gaus Mohammed—to its custody and committed four others to judicial custody.
The others were detained for their claimed participation in the scheme in addition to the primary suspects, Akhtari and Gaus.The central agency is also looking into all of the accused’s phones and other electronic equipment to learn more about their social media and connections to global terror networks.
