Jaipur: Congress leader Ashok Gehlot Saturday said justice has remained elusive in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case four years after the incident, alleging that the BJP used the issue for elections but is now silent on securing punishment for the accused.
Gehlot, a former Rajasthan chief minister, said even though the NIA was conducting the investigation and the special NIA court was hearing the case, there was no significant progress in spite of BJP governments at the Centre and state.
The Congress leader claimed that only 21 out of 180 witnesses had been examined so far, and alleged the delay was not merely negligence but appeared to be a deliberate attempt to prolong the matter. He said the BJP lacked intent to ensure speedy trial.
BJP used the issue for electoral gains but has failed to ensure timely justice for the victim’s family. The party raised the matter during elections but is now silent on securing punishment for those accused in the case, he said.
Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah no longer referred to the case during their visits to Rajasthan.
He urged people of the state to see through the BJP’s politics on the issue, accusing the party of playing with public sentiments.
Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, Lal was hacked to death at his shop in the busy Hathipole area of Udaipur on June 28, 2022, by two cleaver-wielding men for allegedly supporting a social media post against Islam. They also recorded the gruesome act on video and posted it online, triggering widespread outrage.
The Congress government headed by Ashok Gehlot was in power when the incident happened. The BJP had made the murder a poll issue during the assembly election campaign in 2023.