Pak link to Udaipur murder emerges: Accused Ghouse Mohammad followed Dawat-e-Islami

A preliminary investigation into the gruesome killing of a tailor in Udaipur revealed that one of the two prime accused had links with the Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami organisation and had visited Karachi in 2014, the Rajasthan Police chief said on Wednesday. 

The police have detained three more people in connection with the killing so far, Director General of Police (DGP) M L Lather said at a press conference in Jaipur.

Also read:Udaipur murder: Muslim organisations condemn Kanhaiya Lal's killing, call it 'un-Islamic' 

Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, hacked Kanhaiya Lal to death with a cleaver at his shop in Udaipur on Tuesday and posted videos online saying they are avenging an insult to Islam. 

The duo were taken into custody on Tuesday and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC, the police chief said. 

"One of the accused, Ghouse Mohammad, has links with the Karachi-based Ismalist organisation Dawat-e-Islami. He had visited Karachi in 2014. So far, we have detained five people, including the two prime accused," Lather said.

Also read: Udaipur killing a terror attack; there are sleeper cells in Rajasthan: BJP

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Office on Wednesday rejected reported insinuation in India to link the accused in the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur to a Karachi-based extremist group.

In a statement, the Foreign Office here said that it has seen reports in a segment of the Indian media referring to investigations into the murder case in Udaipur, seeking to link the accused individuals to an organisation in Pakistan. 

"We categorically reject any such insinuations," the FO said, adding that it was an attempt by New Delhi at maligning the country including by externalising their internal issues through pointing fingers towards Pakistan.

The FO also said that such "malicious attempts" would not succeed in misleading the people, either in India or elsewhere in the world.

(With inputs from PTI)

• Rajasthan
• Udaipur
• Kanhaiya Lal
• Nupur Sharma