The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday granted bail to Mohammad Javed, who was arrested in connection with the beheading of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, a crime that had shocked the entire nation.

A division bench comprising Justice Pankaj Bhandari and Justice Praveer Bhatnagar has granted bail to the accused, setting a bail bond of ₹2 lakh along with a surety of ₹1 lakh each. Kanhaiya Lal was brutally beheaded on June 29, 2022, by Riyaz and Ghous Mohammed, allegedly in retaliation for his social media post supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Following the attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe from the Udaipur State Police, arresting around 11 individuals, including two Pakistani nationals, in connection with the gruesome killing. On February 13, the NIA submitted a chargesheet against all the accused in a special court.

According to NIA reports, Javed played a crucial role in the conspiracy by conducting a recce and providing information about Kanhaiya Lal's presence at his shop to the main assailant, Riyaz. The NIA further claimed that the accused were self-radicalized, and one of them, Attari, had ties to the Karachi-based Dawat-e-Islami.

The chargesheet was filed by the NIA before the Special Court in Rajasthan against the eleven accused, including the two Pakistani nationals, for their involvement in the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal on June 28, 2022.

The investigation further revealed that the accused were operating as part of a terror-gang module, conspiring to seek revenge. They had been radicalized and drew inspiration from inflammatory videos, audio recordings, and messages that were being circulated both within India and from abroad.

“The accused arranged deadly knives/arms and murdered Kanhaiya Lal in reaction to his Facebook post and attacked a co-worker in his shop in broad daylight. They made a video of the killing, released and made it viral. They also shot another threatening video with the intention of striking terror among the people of India”, the agency’s press release had stated.

Kanhaiya Lal was murdered in retaliation for a social media post in which he expressed solidarity with former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial remarks about the Prophet during a live television debate. The eight-year-old son of Kanhaiya Lal had also shared a post supporting Sharma from his mobile phone.

The attackers filmed the murder and posted the footage on social media, where they not only took responsibility for the crime but also issued threats against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.