JAIPUR: A political controversy has erupted in the murder case of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur after pictures surfaced of one of the accused, Riyaz Attari, standing with some BJP leaders. One of the pictures, from 2018, shows Riyaz with the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Gulabchand Kataria.
The images prompted Congress to demand that the BJP must reveal its links with the killers. Kataria, on the other hand, has said he had no connection with the killers but like all senior leaders, he has no control over who gets photographed with him during public functions.
Besides the picture with Kataria, an old post of a worker of the BJP Minority Morcha has also come to the fore, wherein he has described Riyaz as a BJP worker. In the post published in 2019, Riyaz is visible along with Irshad Chainwala and activist Mohammad Tahir who is associated with the BJP Minority Morcha.
Saying he has no link with Riyaz, Chainwala said, “Riyaz had returned from Mecca-Medina, and was welcomed with a garland.” He said he was introduced to Riyaz by Tahir.Photos of Riyaz have also surfaced with Udaipur BJP president Ravindra Shrimali.
However, Shrimali said Riyaz has nothing to do with the party. “If anyone takes a picture in the crowd, then such a person cannot be linked to any party,” he remarked. State president of BJP Minority Front, M Sajid Khan, echoed the comments. However, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked whether this was the reason for the Centre to “hastily hand over the probe to the NIA”.
Angry lawyers manhandle accused outside court
The four accused in the brutal killing of Kanhaiya Lal were attacked by an angry mob while they were being presented at a special NIA court in Jaipur on Saturday. A group of lawyers raised slogans, demanding that they be hanged at the earliest. The attacks happened despite the large presence of the security forces at the premises. The police had to shield the accused — Riyaz Jabbar, Mohammad Ghaus, Mohsin, and Asif — from the crowd. They have been sent to NIA custody till July 12.