Days after the Udaipur massacre, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team arrived in Maharashtra’s Amravati on Saturday to probe the murder of a chemist, who was allegedly murdered over a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma. Was.
Chemist Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe was stabbed to death in Amravati on June 21, a week before Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was murdered by two men in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Irfan Khan, the main accused in the absconding case, has been arrested from Nagpur.
Read | After Udaipur, NIA to investigate another murder case in Maharashtra over Nupur Sharma’s post
Here’s what we know so far.
1) A chemist identified as Umesh Kolhe (54) was murdered on June 21. According to the state police, Kolhe died on June 21 between 10 pm and 10.30 pm, when he was returning home on a two-wheeler after closing his shop.
2) Local BJP leaders submitted a letter to the police alleging that Kolhe was killed to “avenge and set an example”.
3) An FIR was registered and the Maharashtra Police initially arrested five people in connection with the murder.
#Amravati murder case Victim’s brother Mahesh Kolhe says that my brother sent some messages about Nupur Sharma in some WhatsApp groups, but we are not able to understand why he was killed because of these forwarded messages?#itvideos pic.twitter.com/BogeDmWpqr
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) 2 July 2022
Kolhe had reportedly shared a post on some WhatsApp groups in support of Nupur Sharma for her comments [against Prophet Muhammad]A police officer told PTI.
The victim’s brother Mahesh Kolhe told India Today, “My brother forwarded some messages about Nupur Sharma to some WhatsApp groups, but we do not understand why he was killed because of the forwarded message. “
Read also | Dawat-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based Sunni group linked to Udaipur tailor’s murder
4) Sources in the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is probing the case, said it is probing whether there is any terror angle in the case. The ATS is also probing the pattern of the Amravati massacre and its similarity to the Udaipur massacre. The police have confiscated the knife used in the incident and have obtained the CCTV footage, which has captured the picture of the incident.
5) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team will probe the murder as it emerged that the crime could be linked to social media posts. NIA is also probing the murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal.
6) Later in the day, the main accused in the case, Irfan Khan (32), was arrested by the state police from Nagpur. According to officials, Khan allegedly conspired to kill Kolhe and five others, promising a salary and safe escape in a car after the murder.
Read also | Hindu shopkeeper beheaded in Udaipur for social media post on Nupur Sharma, 2 arrested
7) The other accused have been identified as Mudasir Ahmed (22), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Abdul Tawfiq (24), Shoaib Khan (22) and Atib Rashid (22), all residents of Amravati and daily wage labourers. A total of seven accused have been arrested so far.
8) On June 28, a Hindu shopkeeper was murdered by two men in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The shopkeeper is believed to have been murdered over a social media post supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Rajasthan Police has since said that Ghaus Mohammad, one of the two accused in the case, had gone to Karachi in 2014 and had links with Pakistan-based outfit Dawat-e-Islami.