Amravati murder case: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday (December 16) filed a charge sheet against 11 arrested accused in connection with the 'barbaric' killing of Maharashtra's Amravati-based pharmacist Umesh Kolhe who had shared social media posts supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma.
The charge-sheet claimed that the accused had formed a terrorist gang to take revenge on Kolhe after he shared a WhatsApp post in support of Sharma's controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad. The charge-sheet was filed before a special NIA court here.
The court allowed the probe agency's plea to continue investigation against two absconding accused. Those named in the charge-sheet were Mudassir Ahmed, Shahrukh Khan, Abdul Tausheef Shaikh, Mohammad Shoeb, Atib Rashid, Yusuf Khan, Irfan Khan, Abdul Arbaz, Mushifique Ahmad, Shaikh Shakil and Shahim Ahemad. All of them have been arrested.
The accused were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), 153 A (promoting enmity), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 506 (criminal intimidation) as well as provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The accused, working with "common intention" brutally killed Kolhe in Ghantaghar area of eastern Maharashtra's Amravati city on June 21, 2022 with an aim to strike terror among the people, the NIA said.
The case was initially registered on June 22 at City Kotwali Police Station in Maharashtra's Amravati district and re-registered by the NIA on July 2 on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The case was initially probed by the local police.
So far, investigators believe that Kolhe, a 54-year-old chemist, was killed in retaliation for a social media post supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma who had made controversial comments on the Prophet in a television debate.
(With agencies inputs)
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