The two accused in the beheading of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur were brought to Ajmer’s high-security jail on Thursday night, police informed.
They had been arrested after beheading a 47-year-old tailor named Kanhaiya Lal for allegedly posting on social media in support of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma after she had been suspended by the party following her remarks on Prophet Muhammad.
The horrific incident sparked public outcry across the state and the entire country, after which Sec 144 was imposed in Rajasthan for a month and internet services had to be suspended.
The assailants also recorded themselves while committing the crime, while identifying themselves as Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad. Having killed him, they apparently gloated about it while threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well in the video.
The two accused were soon arrested by the police from Bhim in the Rajsamand district of the state.
On Wednesday, the victim was cremated with a large number of people gathered who demanded that the accused be hanged for their crime. Heavy security arrangements were in place during his cremation.
Meanwhile, the state police said on Wednesday that the main accused in the killing was in touch with Pakistan-based terror outfit Dawat-e-Islami and one of them also went to Karachi in Pakistan in 2014 to meet the organization.
Besides the main accused, the Rajasthan police have also apprehended three other people with whom they were in contact, said director general of police (DGP) M L Lather.
Moreover, the incident is being probed by the national investigation agency (NIA) under orders from the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), while the Rajasthan government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate.
The NIA said on Thursday that it suspected the involvement of a “terror gang and not a terror outfit”.
The accused will be presented in a special NIA court in Jaipur today, they said. The probing agency has filed a case under the unlawful activities (prevention) act as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
