The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the FIR registered in the Amravati murder has called the gruesome killing of Umesh Kohle a terror act with the motive to terrorise “a section of people of India.”
The probe agency will also investigate whether the case is part of a national conspiracy or has been instigated from abroad, a report in Hindustan Times said.
The report said that a case under Section 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Section 34, 153 (A), 153 (B), 120 (B) and 302 IPC has been filed based on a complaint by the victim’s son.
The chemist, Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe, was killed on June 21, a week before the killing of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur by two men who claimed they were avenging an insult to Islam.
A team of the anti-terror probe agency NIA on Saturday visited Maharashtra’s Amravati to probe the killing of a chemist, officials said, after it emerged the crime might be linked to his social media posts supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma who was suspended from party for her remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
A Home Ministry spokesperson tweeted that the probe of the case relating to the “barbaric killing” of Kolhe has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The federal probe agency would thoroughly investigate the conspiracy behind the killing and involvement of organisations and international linkages, the spokesperson said.
The FIR, filed by NIA on Saturday night, listed Mudassir Ahmed, Shahrukh Pathan, Abdul Thoufik, Shoaib Khan, Atib Rashid, Yusuf Khan, Shahim Ahmed and Irfan Khan as accused along with unknown others.
“The said incident of a cold-blooded murder of deceased Umesh Kolhe was an act of larger conspiracy of a group of accused persons and others who have conspired among themselves to strike terror amongst a section of people of India and with their assertions attempted to promote enmity on the grounds of religion and thereby commit a terrorist act on June 21 between 10.00-1030 pm,” the NIA FIR reportedly stated.
So far, the Maharashtra Police have arrested five people in connection with the Amravati killing and are looking for one Irfan Khan, who runs an NGO and is alleged to be the prime accused in the case.
Kolhe was killed between 10 pm and 10.30 pm on June 21 when he was returning home on a two-wheeler after closing his shop. “Kolhe ran a medical store. He had allegedly shared a post on some WhatsApp groups in support of Nupur Sharma for her comments (against Prophet Mohammad),” an official of the City Kotwali police station said.
Khan allegedly hatched a conspiracy to kill Kolhe and roped in five others, promising to pay them Rs 10,000 and safe escape in a car after the killing, he said.
The Amravati police had registered it as a case of murder with robbery as a motive. However, the NIA FIR makes it very clear that nothing was stolen from the victim, posing serious questions on the police of the state then under the MVA government headed by Uddhav Thackeray.
The report said that the state police DGP did not send any report to the Centre about the incident despite being asked and instead waited for the NIA to take up the case.
The BJP on June 5 suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi BJP media head Navin Jindal after their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad led to outrage in India and also in some Muslim countries.
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