Supriya Shrinate Misleads Again: No, The Killers of Kanhaiya Lal Were Not The Members of BJP

Recently, Supriya Shrinate, the Indian National Congress spokesperson spoke during a Jaipur press conference. During her press appearance, she made an accusation directed towards the Bharatiya Janata Party, stating that the individuals responsible for Kanhaiya Lal’s murder were members of the BJP minority Morcha. In the tweet below (Archived link), at the time frame of 13:53 minute, Supriya says, “Both the killers of Kanhaiya Lal were the members of the BJP minority cell. There are photographs of them with renowned BJP leaders.”

महिला सुरक्षा पर भाजपा के बेबुनियाद आरोपों का पर्दाफ़ाश करने के लिए आज जयपुर में प्रेस वार्ता की https://t.co/085F8oW23w

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) November 20, 2023

Two Islamic terrorists killed Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur on June 28, 2022, after he posted on social media to defend BJP politician Nupur Sharma over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad. After savagely chopping off his head, Mohammad and Riyaz made a video in which they confessed to the murder. At the same time, images of Riyaz with a number of BJP figures went viral, leading to accusations that they were BJP members. But what is the truth behind those viral pictures? Let’s fact check.

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Fact Check

In fact check, we found a report by India Today. According to India Today report (Archived link), Mohammad Ghaus and Riyaz Attari were not members of the BJP Minority Front. Reports reveal that Riyaz Attari, the main accused in tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s murder case, allegedly used to attend events organized by the BJP and was linked to a member named Irshad Chainwala of the BJP’s minority Morcha in Rajasthan. Riyaz was continuously in touch with Chainwala and used to attend party programs.

Chainwala told India Today that he was introduced to Riyaz through a person named Mohammad Tahir, whom he described as a party worker and a close acquaintance of the killer. He further added that, with the help of Tahir, Riyaz frequently attended BJP programs, sometimes without being invited, but behind closed doors he was a harsh critic of the party’s ideology.

Following the arrest of Riyaz and Mohammed, a photo of Riyaz with Chainwala garlanding him went viral, feeding the speculation that Riyaz was associated with the party. Chainwala disclosed the real story behind the widely shared image, saying that Riyaz had just returned from a trip in Saudi Arabia in 2019 when Irshad and Tahir gave welcomed him with a garland and took the picture. He further said that Riyaz had been attempting to join the BJP for many years. Nonetheless, he made it apparent that Riyaz was not a party member.

Aside from that, we discovered a report written by Dainik Bhaskar (Archived link), in which they reached out to Chainwala and Tahir as part of their independent investigation. Following Bhaskar’s correspondence with the murderer Riyaz’s two acquaintances, Tahir—who had shared a picture of Riyaz on Facebook—stated that Riyaz had attempted, but failed, to join the BJP. Furthermore, he disclosed that Riyaz had previously attended BJP functions that catered only to Muslims. He never went to any events that weren’t Muslim. He didn’t know why Riyaz wanted to join the party.

So, to sum up, Riyaz was not a member of the BJP Minority cell. He was connected with party workers and used to attend BJP programs through them. Therefore, the claim made by the Congress spokesperson is misleading.

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