Accused in tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case of Rajasthan granted bail by HC

Jaipur, Sep 5 (PTI) Mohammad Javed, one of the accused in the tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case in Rajasthan’s Udaipur in 2022, was on Thursday granted bail by the Rajasthan High Court.

Javed had pleaded for bail in the Jaipur bench of the high court after the NIA court denied him the relief in the case.

Through his counsel Syed Saadat Ali, Javed argued that he was arrested in the case based on phone call details whereas his location was not traced with the other accused involved in hatching the conspiracy.

Ali said the main accused are said to have gathered at a tea stall before the incident but the petitioner’s location was not there.

No recovery has been made from him and that his guilt is yet to be established in a trial, and charges have already been framed, he said.

Considering the arguments of the defence counsel, the bench headed by Justice Pankaj Bhandari granted bail to Javed as his arrest was based upon his disclosure statement and other main accused in the matter.

Kanhaiya Lal was hacked to death at his shop in the busy Hathipole area of Udaipur in June 2022 by two cleaver-wielding men – Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Gause – for allegedly supporting a social media post against Islam, an incident that sent shockwaves across the country.

The case is being investigated by the NIA.

The charges were framed in the NIA court in Jaipur against 11 accused under various IPC sections including 302 (murder), 452 (trespassing) 153-a (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc), 295-a (deliberate and malicious acts, that are intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 120-b (criminal conspiracy) and unlawful activities (prevention) Act.