Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan over the brutal killing of Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded on June 28 last year.

“What happened in Udaipur was not even imagined by anyone… People come on the pretext of getting clothes stitched and cut the throats of tailors without any fear or dread… Congress saw a vote bank even in this case. I want to ask Congress, what did the Congress party do during the Udaipur tailor killing, they played vote-bank politics…”, the prime minister said in a rally in Chhittorgarh in poll-bound Rajasthan.

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Last week, Modi had invoked the killing of Kanhaiya Lal in state capital Jaipur. “How can investment take place in an environment where incident of cutting someone’s throat happens and the government is helpless? This was not an ordinary crime, it was the result of Congress’ vote-bank appeasement politics,” he said.

Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, was killed in an ISIS-styled beheading by Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed over hsi social media post supporting suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammed. The duo filmed the killing on their mobile phones and circulated on social media. They threatened Prime Minister Modi on camera in a video which went viral. The duo was arrested hours after killing.

In December last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheeted 11 persons including two Pakistani nationals under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

As per NIA chargesheet, the probe had pointed to a conspiracy by the 11 accused who were members of a terror module, and were radicalised by incriminating content circulared from within and outside the country.

Riyaz Attari is said to be linked to Karachi-based radical outfit Dawat-e-Islami. The second killer Ghous Mohammed was called to Pakistan by senior functionaries of Dawat in 2014.

The Dawat’s mission is to spread the teachings of Quran and Shariah and advocates Shariah globally. It has a massive following in Pakistan and supports the blasphemy law there.