Amravati may have Preceded Udaipur in Prophet Revenge Killing, NIA Asked to Probe

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, July 2: Amravati in Maharashtra may have preceded Udaipur in Rajasthan in “revenge killing” for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Mohammad, but the police kept it under wrap till the union home ministry on Saturday ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also to probe into the Amravati killing to establish terror angle.

But after the NIA team left for Amravati to investigate the murder on June 21 of a veterinary chemist Umesh Kolhe (54), the Amravati police admitted that the six accused arrested in this connection had confessed during interrogation that they killed him because of his posts supporting Nupur Sharma. “Six people have been arrested in the case so far. The accused have told us that they killed him because of what he posted about Nupur Sharma,” deputy commissioner of police Amravati Vikram Sali said.

The statement from the police came after pressure from the BJP.  “Umesh Kolhe’s murder is related to the Nupur Sharma controversy. People in the police department also think so. We have learnt that the killers have admitted to murdering him because of supporting Nupur Sharma, but the police are trying to cover it up,” Tushar Bhartiya, a BJP leader in Amravati district, had said.

The Kotwali city police in Amravati also arrested a 44-year-old veterinary doctor in connection with the Umesh Kolhe murder, who was killed allegedly for circulating a WhatsApp post supporting the controversial comments made by Nupur Sharma against Prophet Mohammed.

Yusuf Khan Bahadur Khan, who runs a veterinary clinic in the city, was arrested on Friday night. Confirming the link between Sharma’s comments and Kolhe’s murder, Sali on Saturday said, “The motive behind the murder is for seeking revenge for the post made by him (Kolhe) in support of Nupur Sharma.”

Explaining Khan’s role in the murder, a police officer said, “Khan had made a post on a WhatsApp group against Kolhe saying he was circulating posts supporting Nupur Sharma. This provoked the accused against Kolhe and they decided to murder him. So, Khan instigated the other accused.”

On Saturday, Khan was produced before a magistrate court which sent him in police custody till July 4. Khan was the sixth accused to be held in this connection while one suspect was still absconding.

Finding similarity in the two incidents at two different places, an alarmed union home ministry which earlier had handed over the Udaipur killing to the NIA, on Saturday asked the central agency to probe the Amravati incident also to probe the terror angle.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a tweet, “MHA has handed over the investigation of the case relating to the barbaric killing of Shri Umesh Kolhe in Amravati Maharashtra on 21st June to NIA. The conspiracy behind the killing, involvement of organisations and international linkages would be thoroughly investigated.”

The local police has arrested six persons in the case so far and seized CCTV footage of the incident. The accused have been identified as Muddsir Ahamed (22), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Abdul Thoufk (24), Shoaib Khan (22), Atib Rashid (22) and Yousuf Khan Bahadur (44). Another accused- Shamin Ahmed is absconding.

Like the murder of the 48-year old Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kolhe too was stabbed in the neck in an attempt to beheading him while he was returning from work on his scooter around 10.30 pm on June 21. His son- Sanket Kolhe (27) and his wife Viashnavi were following Umesh Kolhe in another two-wheeler. Sanket, who was the complainant, told the police, “We were moving from Prabhat Chowk and our scooters had reached New High School’s gate. Two men on a bike suddenly came in front of my father’s scooter. One of them had a knife in his hand. They stopped my father’s bike and one of them stabbed my father on his neck with the knife. My father fell on the ground and he was bleeding from his neck. I stopped my scooter and started screaming for help. Another man came and the three sat on the bike and fled from the spot.”

Sanket said in his complaint that he rushed to help his father and with the help of others, Kolhe was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died the same night during treatment. Within 24 hours the Amravati police arrested two men and based on investigation, three others were subsequently arrested. Police have seized the knife used in the incident.

The Amravati case happened a week before the Udaipur incident where Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded by two persons on June 28. The killers entered the shop with a cleaver and filmed the act on a mobile phone and posted it on several WhatsApp groups. The victim, Kanhaiya Lal, had shared posts in support of Nupur Sharma, who had made offensive remarks against the Prophet in a television debate in May. NIA is also probing the Udaipur case.

After the Udaipur incident came to light, the local BJP members had met the Amravati police commissioner and expressed suspicion that Kolhe may have been killed for his social media posts in support of Ms Sharma. The police earlier suspected the case to be that of a robbery or contract killing, but Kohle’s family told the police that a bag containing cash was left untouched by the killers at the scene of the crime.

Meanwhile, a large mob outside the Jaipur court on Saturday attacked the two killers in the gruesome murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal. A mob attacked them outside the Jaipur court, and ripped their clothes. But the police quickly put them into a waiting van and averted major injury.

Kanhaiya Lal, 48, was murdered on Tuesday by two men who filmed the killing. Later, Riyaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad put out another video in which they bragged about the murder and also threatened to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Akhtari and Mohammad were arrested hours after the killing. Investigators in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case on Saturday said two more men identified by the NIA as Mohsin and Asif were “on standby” to kill the tailor if Riyaz and Ghouse had failed. The two, who were also allegedly involved in a recce of Kanhaiya’s shop and in the alleged conspiracy to kill him, were also arrested on Thursday night.

Mohsin and Asif also helped the killers escape the scene, said the NIA. A scooter belonging to one of the killers, Mohammad Ghouse, was found parked in in Udaipur, which became a key link in the investigation, it is learnt.

Earlier, NIA sources said the agency was looking into possible involvement of “local self-radicalised gangs” having international links. There may be a role of more people besides the two arrested men, it had said.

“The two main accused had become members of Dawat-e-Islami via an app,” the sources said referring to a religious organisation headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan, which also has branches in India. Founded in 1981 by Maulana Ilyas Attari, Dawat-e-Islami has been linked with incidents of violence — on the issue of blasphemy — across the world, but is also known for charitable activities.

All the four accused were presented at a NIA court in Jaipur on Saturday under heavy police security. There were heavy police arrangements on the court premises and several lawyers shouted slogans like “Pakistan Murdabad” and “Kanhaiya ke hatyaron ko fansi do” (give death sentence to Kanhaiya’s killers). The court today also granted the custody of the killers to the NIA till July 12.