HC grants bail to man accused of conspiracy in Udaipur tailor’s murder

The Rajasthan high court on Thursday granted bail to a man allegedly involved in the conspiracy behind the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur in 2022 that sparked communal tensions, citing a “lack of evidence”.

Saadat Ali, the lawyer of Muhammed Javed, said the National Investigating Agency (NIA) probing the matter failed to provide the necessary evidence that his client was involved in the conspiracy and recced the murder scene. “His name was not there in the primary FIR [first information report].”

Ali said Javed was not seen in the CCTV footage of Teli’s shop on the day of the murder. “The agency also failed to prove that he [Javed] along with the accused Muhammed Riyaz Attari and Muhammed Gaus planned the murder on the night before the incident,” said Ali.

Ali said a bench of justices Pankaj Bhandari and Praveen Bhatnagar noted the NIA only provided the call records of his client. He added the bench said the NIA did not prove that Javed was present with Attari and Muhammed Gaus at a tea shop where the conspiracy was allegedly plotted. “The owner of the tea shop also denied Javed’s presence,” said Ali.

He added the court noted that no suspicious items were recovered from Javed’s place indicating his involvement in the murder. “Javed’s location was also last traced near Teli’s shop at 11:30 am. The murder took place about five hours later. He was also not seen entering his shop ever on the day of the murder. It [NIA] could not prove his involvement in the conspiracy,” said Ali. He added the court granted Javed’s bail on a personal bond of ₹100,000.

Attari and Gaus were caught on camera pretending to get measurements before they attacked and beheaded Teli. The murder provoked outrage as the attackers claimed responsibility in a video. The attackers told investigators that they murdered Teli as he allegedly supported Nupur Sharma, who was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for her remarks against the Prophet Muhammad.

Attari and Gaus were arrested hours after the murder from Rajsamand, about 150km from Udaipur. Five people, including Javed, were later arrested for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy.

The NIA, which took over the probe from the state police and arrested 11 people, accused Javed of playing an important role in the conspiracy to kill Teli. It said he conducted reconnaissance and passed on information about Teli’s presence at his shop to the main accused Attari. NIA claimed the accused were self-radicalised while Attari had links with a Karachi-based Dawat-e-Islami. It filed a charge sheet against all the accused in a special court on February 13.