In the brutal murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) is looking into the possible involvement of "local self-radicalised gangs" having international links. There may be a role of more people besides the two arrested men, it suspects.
"We have taken over the case but are yet to get custody of the two accused," a senior officer, who did not want to be named, told NDTV a day after the NIA took over from the Rajasthan police. "Only after getting their custody can we know about their linkages locally or internationally," the officer added.
He said the the arrested men, Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, are being taken to Jaipur where they will be produced in a special NIA court. "They will be questioned in Rajasthan; not in Delhi as of now," he added.
"The two accused had become members of Dawat-e-Islami via an app," he said, referring to a religious organisation headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan, which has branches in India too. Founded in 1981 by Maulana Ilyas Attari, Dawat-e-Islami has been linked with incidents of violence -- on the issue of blasphemy -- across the world, but is also known for charitable activities. Those associated with it use the suffix "Attari" in their names.
"One of the arrested men was in touch with some people in Pakistan, but it is too early to draw any conclusions," the NIA source further said, adding that the NIA won't speculate involvement of any terror outfit.
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, on Thursday met the victim's family in Udaipur, and later said, "This was not a clash between two communities, but a terror-related incident in which links of accused have been established to foreign soil."
The central agency has taken over the case on directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The case has political ramifications, too, as the BJP -- ruling at the Centre -- has accused the Congress and its government in Rajasthan of being soft against radicalisation.
