Kanhaiya’s Killers Riyaz And Gos, Sufi-Barelvi Sunnis, Wanted To Shoot Another Video In Moinuddin Chishti Dargah In Ajmer

The killers of Kanhaiya Lal, Riyaz Akhtari and Gos Mohammad, were planning to go to the tomb of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer city of Rajasthan for seeking blessings after committing the gory crime, as per various reports.

A report by CNN-News 18 says that the two were caught by Rajasthan police before they could reach the spot, as per various reports.

A report by Hindustan Times says that the two planned to shoot another video at the dargah. The killers had already distributed the video of the murder through WhatsApp. Within minutes, it had gone viral. The video was shot by Gos while Riyaz executed the killing.

The reports also say that the two adhered to the Sufi-Barelvi sect of Sunni Islam and had close links with a Pakistan-based organisation called Dawat-e-Islami.

Kanhaiya Lal, who worked as a tailor in Udaipur’s Dhan Mandi market in Rajasthan, was killed on 28 June by Riyaz and Gos who entered his shop posing as customers. Riyaz stabbed Kanhaiya multiple times, killing him on the spot. They fled, and released a pre-recorded video announcing their intention to kill Kanhaiya and all other “blasphemers”.

About ten days before the brutal killing, Kanhaiya was booked by the local police under IPC section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) for sharing a post on his Facebook account criticising beheading threats to now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Last year, a large crowd gathered at the Ajmer Sharif dargah in protest of ‘blasphemy’ by Yati Narsinghanand. The dargah, where lies the grave of Persian ‘Sufi’ Muslim preacher Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, was declared closed by the state government at that time.

Visuals of the protest were widely circulated on social media. Thousands were seen raising slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘Naara-e-Takbeer’, and a man addressing the crowd said that comments against Prophet Mohammed were being “repeatedly” made across India for the last “six-seven” years. He was Syed Sarwar Chishti, khadim of the dargah.

“Don’t provoke us or we [Muslims] will want to rule over this country all over again,” he said.