Amravati chemist's murder | NIA takes custody of all accused

Police are on the lookout for one more suspect Shamim Ahmed in connection with the case.

July 05, 2022 07:58 am | Updated 11:58 am IST - Amravati

The accused are likely to be produced before the NIA’s Mumbai court on or before July 8

The accused are likely to be produced before the NIA’s Mumbai court on or before July 8 | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over custody of all the seven accused in the murder of Amravati-based chemist Umesh Kolhe, a police official said on Tuesday.

The NIA took custody of all the accused, who were granted four days’ transit remand on Monday after they were produced before the Amravati court, he said.

Umesh was allegedly attacked with a knife by a group of three men between 10 pm and 10:30 pm on June 21. He died during treatment at hospital.

The incident occurred a week before two men hacked to death Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, with a cleaver at his shop before posting videos online saying that they were avenging an insult to Islam.

According to City Kotwalli police, Kolhe ran a medical store in Amravati city. He had allegedly shared a post on some WhatsApp groups in support of Nupur Sharma for her comments. He even mistakenly shared the post in a WhatsApp group in which some Muslims were also members, including his customers.

The accused are likely to be produced before the NIA's Mumbai court on or before July 8, the official added.

Amravati police had found inks between social media posts supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Umesh's murder during the investigation and didn't suppress the case as was alleged, police commissioner Arti Singh said on Monday.

Police didn't disclose the information earlier given the "very sensitive" nature of the murder case and to avoid any untoward incident, she said.

The seven are Muddasar Ahmad (22), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Abdul Taufiq (24) Shoaib Khan (22), Atib Rashid (22) and Yusuf Khan (32) and alleged mastermind Shaikh Irfan Shaikh Rahim.

Police are on the lookout for one more suspect Shamim Ahmed in connection with the case.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.