Jaipur: Investigators today said two men were "on standby" to kill Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal had the two who killed him failed. A special court in Jaipur gave custody of all four men to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) till July 12.
A mob attacked them outside the Jaipur court, but the NIA quickly put them into a waiting van and averted major injury.
Kanhaiya Lal, 48, was murdered last Tuesday by two men — Riaz Akhtari and Gos Mohammad (also spelt Ghouse) — over social media posts supporting BJP's Nupur Sharma, who had made comments against Prophet Mohammed and was later suspended from the party. The killers filmed the act and later posted a video bragging about it, saying they avenged "an insult to Islam", and threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi too.
They were arrested hours after the murder, while the two who had been on standby — identified by the NIA as Mohsin and Asif — were arrested on Thursday night for the alleged conspiracy.
Mohsin and Asif also helped the killers escape the scene, said the NIA. A scooter belonging to one of the killers, Gos Mohammad , was found parked in Udaipur — a key link in the investigation.
Earlier, NIA sources said the agency is looking into possible involvement of "local self-radicalised gangs" having international links. 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.
Concerns grew as a similar killing over supporting Nupur Sharma came to light in Amravati, Maharashtra. Police confirmed the link — two weeks after the murder — as Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the NIA to investigate. "Six people have been arrested. They told us they killed him because of what he posted about Nupur Sharma," senior police officer Vikram Sali said.