Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has claimed that "BJP people" are the ones behind Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder. He said these criminals were freed from police detention days before the incident under the party's (BJP) pressure, reported PTI. He further claimed that this was the reason for the saffron party to go "defensive" over the issue.
"The accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case are BJP people. They had been caught by police two-three days before the incident over some altercation and the BJP leaders had got them out from police detention," Gehlot alleged, as quoted by PTI. Addressing a meeting in Jodhpur on Sunday with Congress leaders and workers, Gehlot claimed that BJP had become "defensive" about the incident because of this.
The Udaipur tailor was killed on June 28 last year by two cleaver-wielding men who accused him of insulting Islam and even recorded the act on camera.
The chief minister also raised doubts about the probe being done into the issue by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the murder case. "We had caught the accused within two-three hours of the murder, but the NIA took over the case the same night. We do not know since then what the progress in the case has been. Had it been with SOG, there would have been some progress," he claimed, quoted PTI.
He added that the investigation is being done purposefully slow and attributed it to the intention of the BJP to make it a poll issue. Gehlot added his party acted with all seriousness in the matter, adding that the BJP leaders left for a conference in Hyderabad.
"The moment the incident took place, I left for Udaipur, dropping all my programmes in Jaipur. But the BJP leaders left for Hyderabad for a conference which also included their leader of the opposition," Ashok Gehlot said.
"They exploited Lord Hanuman in the Karnataka election but had to bite the dust. But this time, their agenda of Hindutva will not work. Rajasthan is a model state today and only the agenda of development will work," he added, quoted PTI.