Udaipur murder case: NIA says no terror links, Rajasthan ATS disagrees

New Delhi: As the probe into the Udaipur murder began, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed that there was no terrorist organisation involved in the ghastly Udaipur beheading incident, a claim which has been contested by the Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), IANS reported. Raising questions about NIA`s claims, the state anti-terror agency late on Friday night, called it a premature statement as the investigation is still at a preliminary stage. On the other hand, the Rajasthan ATS sources, as per the IANS report, said that the accused were in contact with two Pakistani nationals and claimed that the video of the heinous act was shared on a Pakistani WhatsApp group with the caption ‘the order has been fulfilled.’

Udaipur murder: ISIS angle

According to IANS, sources say that both the accused were also in touch with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"Ghouse was in touch with nine Pakistani nationals having terrorist backgrounds. He received a number of calls from Pakistan during the murder. His Pakistani handler had given him a more terrorist task to accomplish. He was also asked to kill a businessman in sector 11 of Udaipur. Two persons -- Mohsin and Asif -- were asked to conduct a recce of all the targets," sources told IANS.

The report further added that in 2014, Ghouse had gone to Karachi where he came in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami organisation. Since then he was in touch with them. He took training in terrorism there.

Earlier on Friday, CCTV footage of this incident surfaced in which accused Ghouse Mohammad and Riyaz Jabbar were seen escaping on a bike. The registration number of this bike is "2611" which is linked to the terror attacks in Mumbai.

Udaipur ASP suspended

Notably, the state government suspended Udaipur Additional SP Ashok Kumar Meena on Friday evening. Earlier, SHO and SI were also suspended.

Udaipur murder: 3 more arrested from Chittorgarh

3 more accused have been arrested from Chittorgarh in the Kanhaiyalal murder case, reported ABP news adding that they were being kept as a backup plan to execute the killing.

(From IANS inputs)