How Haunted Memories of Udaipur Tailor’s Murder Endure—Gyanvapi Files Brings It Back!

Udaipur/Rajasthan- The savage beheading of Kanhaiya Lal Teli, a humble tailor from the City of Lakes, on June 28, 2022, left an indelible scar on India’s conscience, its chilling brutality captured on video and seared into the minds of millions. What began as a local dispute over a social media post spiraled into a horrifying act of vengeance by two assailants, Muhammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Muhammad, sparking outrage across the nation and beyond.

Nearly three years later, the haunted memories of that fateful day—when a tailor’s shop became a scene of terror—refuse to fade. Now, with the upcoming release of Gyanvapi Files: A Tailor Murder Story on June 27, 2025, starring Vijay Raaz, this tragic chapter is set to be brought back to life on the silver screen, reigniting a story that not only tainted Rajasthan's reputation but also sparked global outrage over its gruesome nature and underlying communal tensions. The film's first official poster was released on April 2 featuring Vijay Raaz in the lead role as Kanhaiya Lal.

The Incident That Shook the World: A FlashBack

On June 28, 2022, Kanhaiya Lal Teli, a Hindu tailor from the Dhanmandi area of Udaipur, was beheaded in his shop by two assailants, Muhammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Muhammad, in broad daylight. The attackers, posing as customers, recorded the savage act on video and later circulated it online, claiming responsibility and stating they were avenging an insult to Islam. The murder was linked to Lal’s alleged support for a social media post backing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose controversial remarks about the Prophet Muhammad earlier that year had triggered widespread unrest, known as the 2022 Muhammad remarks controversy.

The assailants entered Lal’s shop at 2:45 p.m., and as he took measurements for one of them, they attacked him with cleavers. After subduing him, they dragged him outside and slit his throat with a makeshift dagger crafted at their welding workshop. The police later confirmed that the perpetrators had attempted to behead Lal but failed, though the attack left him with multiple stab wounds. A shop assistant, Ishvar, sustained severe head injuries while trying to intervene, but other shopkeepers in the busy market did not attempt a rescue. The assailants fled on foot before escaping on a motorcycle.

In a chilling follow-up video, Attari and Ghaus boasted about the killing and issued threats against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The videos went viral, prompting immediate outrage across India and beyond.

The United Nations also responded to the murder. On June 30, 2022, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned the act during a press briefing, calling for global religious harmony and peace. He urged all parties to refrain from violence and work toward de-escalation, reflecting the UN’s concern over the incident’s potential to fuel further unrest.

Protests & Communal Tension

The murder triggered widespread protests and communal tensions in Udaipur and beyond. Local markets shut down, and traders demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. Nearly 7,000 people participated in a silent protest march in Udaipur. The Rajasthan government imposed a 24-hour curfew in Udaipur and suspended internet access statewide to curb the spread of the inflammatory videos. Section 144 of the CrPC was enforced across Rajasthan for many weeks. A dozen-odd police personnel were suspended following outrage over the murder who were reinstated within few months.

The central government handed the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), India’s primary counterterrorism unit, which arrested the assailants in Rajsamand district on June 28 as they attempted to flee. The NIA’s investigation revealed the duo’s ties to Dawat-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based Barelvi organization, with Ghaus Muhammad having attended its sessions in Karachi in 2014. The chargesheet has been submitted by the NIA before a special court hearing the case, and the accused are currently in judicial custody at Ajmer Jail.

The Rajasthan government announced ₹50 lakh in compensation for Kanhaiya Lal's family on June 28, followed by government jobs for his sons on July 6. BJP leader Kapil Mishra, visiting the family on July 2, pledged ₹1 crore for them, ₹25 lakh for the injured assistant Ishvar, and ₹5 lakh for a constable injured in related mob violence.

The Mooknayak spoke to some residents who said they don’t even wish to recall the incident. Saumya, a practicing lawyer in Uttar Pradesh, vividly remembers the episode, as the curfew had delayed her internal exams during the final year of her BALLB course at Udaipur's Mohanlal Sukhadia University.

"I was stuck in Udaipur while all my roommates, who had finished their exams, had already left. I didn’t know how I would manage alone in the PG room. Fortunately, my landlord’s family was kind..."

"The incident sparked immense fear and panic within the Muslim community. We had to relocate our families to Muslim-dominated areas," recalls Nasir Hussain, an interior design contractor. "Parents were afraid to send their children to school even weeks after normalcy was restored."

The Film: Gyanvapi Files: A Tailor Murder Story

Gyanvapi Files: A Tailor Murder Story is directed by Amit Jhani and produced under Jani Firefox Films and Luciole Production, with Reliance Entertainment backing its theatrical release. The first poster, captioned “Witness the story that needs to be told,” features Vijay Raaz as Kanhaiya Lal, signaling a focus on the tailor’s tragic fate. While the filmmakers have not disclosed specific plot details, the title suggests a connection to the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, which indirectly ties to the Nupur Sharma controversy that precipitated KanhaiyaLal’s murder.

The film’s release on June 27, 2025, just days before the third anniversary of the incident, has already sparked significant buzz due to the case’s sensitive nature. It aims to bring the events of June 28, 2022, and their broader implications to the silver. Concurrent screen, offering a cinematic lens on a tragedy that reverberated far beyond Udaipur.

International Media Coverage

The brutal murder garnered significant international media attention due to its shocking nature and the global implications of religious extremism. Outlets like the BBC and The Guardian reported on the beheading and the subsequent curfew, framing it within India’s rising communal tensions linked to Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Al Jazeera detailed the assailants’ motives and the Indian government’s response, including the National Investigation Agency’s involvement, while Reuters emphasized the viral videos and nationwide outrage. The New York Times explored the incident as a reflection of India’s religious polarization, and CNN drew parallels to global extremist violence, focusing on the filmed brutality. France 24 highlighted the protests and social media’s role in escalating the situation, collectively painting a picture of a tragedy that transcended borders, amplified by its graphic documentation and geopolitical context.