Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has made a sensational disclosure, saying that one of the Udaipur killers was saved by BJP leaders when the Rajasthan police wanted to act against him in a criminal case.

The chief minister was referring to Riyaz Attari and Mohammed Gaus who were allegedly involved in the ghastly murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal which shook the nation. They not only killed the tailor allegedly for supporting BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s derogatory remarks on Prophet Mohammed, but also uploaded the video on social media to create panic and alarm.

Gehlot insisted that the association of the killers with the BJP was known to everybody in Udaipur.

“I was told that the landlord of one of these killers had complained to police. They were not paying rent for the house they lived in and threatening the landlord. Before the police could act, BJP leaders called up the police, saying not to trouble him because he was their worker,” said Gehlot.

Gehlot, who was on Tuesday made a senior observer for Gujarat elections by the Congress, said: “Everybody knows in whose lap these criminals were sitting. The media has already shown who they were close to. Photographs have appeared on social media.”

The Congress alleged in the past as well that Riyaz Attari was a BJP member and worked for the party.

The Congress held news conferences across the country to expose the links of Udaipur killers and the terrorist Talib Hussain, arrested from Jammu, with the BJP.