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NIA makes seventh arrest in killing of Udaipur tailor
Farhad Mohammad Sheikh, alias Babla, was arrested in Udaipur on Saturday evening. The 31-year-old is a “close criminal associate” of main killer accused Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the seventh accused in the brutal killing of a Hindu tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur last month, the agency said on Sunday.
Farhad Mohammad Sheikh, alias Babla, was arrested in Udaipur on Saturday evening. The 31-year-old is a “close criminal associate” of main killer accused Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari and took an “active part in the conspiracy” to murder the tailor, the agency said in a statement.
A special NIA court on Sunday sent Sheikh to the federal agency’s custody till July 12, officials said.
On June 28, tailor Kanhaiya Lal was hacked to death by Aktari and Gaus Mohammed for supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s contentious remarks on Prophet Mohammed.
The accused captured the killing on their phones and issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they proudly posed with the knives used in the murder in a hate crime that shocked the country. The duo was arrested hours after the crime that day.
Subsequently, the Centre rushed a NIA team to Udaipur to probe the killing.
Besides main accused Akhtari and Mohammed, four people – Mohsin Khan, Asif Hussain, Mohammad Mohasin and Wasim Ali – have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy. All the accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and are also in NIA custody till July 12.
Akhtari and Mohammed are being interrogated about online groups propagating radicalisation that they were part of, and about their association with Karachi-based religious organisation Dawat-e-Islami, HT had reported earlier.
Investigators are also probing a larger conspiracy, with possible involvement of people based abroad.
On Friday, an NIA team visited Udaipur to recreate the crime scene and probe local connections of the main accused, the officials cited above said, seeking anonymity.
The central agency is also examining the phones and other devices of all the accused for information on their connections on social media and with international terror networks, they added.
Besides the Udaipur killing, the NIA is also probing the murder of a chemist in Maharashtra’s Amravati district last month.
The chemist, Umesh Kolhe (54), was also allegedly murdered for his social media posts backing Sharma’s remarks on the Prophet. The killing came a week before the tailor’s murder in Udaipur.
Seven people have been arrested and are in NIA custody till July 15.
The counter-terrorist task force is focuing on online “handlers” who may have possibly motivated the accused to carry out the attack, as well as local connections of the suspects, the officials said.
No organised gang or terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for both the Udaipur and Amravati killings. Investigators are also trying to ascertain if there is a link between the two cases.
As reported by HT on July 5, Union home minister Amit Shah, during a meeting with NIA chief Dinkar Gupta, asked the agency to go after such radical elements “freely”.
