Within hours of Shah’s direction, Amravati Police arrested the alleged mastermind Sheikh Irfan Sheikh Rahimalla alias Irrfan Khan from Hasanbagh in Nagpur, taking the number of arrests in the case to seven so far. Irfan fled to Amravati after chemist Umesh crusherkilling, officials said.
One of the other six suspects arrested for the murder of Kolhe, Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded a week earlier. prophetHe reportedly confessed during interrogation that the killers had beheaded the chemist for alleged blasphemy.
Police Commissioner Arti Singh said the murder, prima facie, was the result of backlash against Kolhe’s social media campaign in support of Nupur. She clarified that the motive can be confirmed only after questioning the mastermind, a school dropout who runs Amravati-based NGO Rehbariya Foundation and provides free ambulance service to needy Muslims through a helpline.
Police said Irfan once wrote to the foreign ministry condemning French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that “Islamists will never have a future in France” after the Charlie Hebdo shooting. He demanded a ban on the import of French goods.
Of the seven arrested for Kolhe’s murder, only two – Irfan and co-accused Tawfiq alias Nanu Sheikh Taslim – were earlier registered in a police case. Others Mudassar Ahmed alias Sonu Raza Sheikh Ibrahim, Shahrukh Pathan alias Badshah Hidayat Khan, Shoaib Khan alias Bhurya Sabir Khan, Atib Rashid alias Adil Rashid and Yusuf Khan alias Bahadur Khan are facing charges for the first time. are.
On June 21, Kolhe was on his way back home on a scooter when he was killed on the way. His son Sanket and daughter-in-law Vaishnavi, who were carrying Rs 35,000 in cash, were following him on another two-wheeler. Police ruled out robbery as a possible motive as the attackers had not touched the crusher bag and mobile phone.
Sanket told TV channels, “The killers must have beheaded Vaishnavi and I could not catch them and started shouting.”
“The MHA has handed over the investigation of the case related to the brutal murder of Shri Umesh Kolhe in Amravati Maharashtra on June 21 to the NIA. The conspiracy behind the murder, involvement of organizations and international relations will be thoroughly investigated,” said a tweet from the official handle of the Union Home Minister.
Umesh’s brother Mahesh thanked Shah for ordering the inquiry. “We did not expect this (NIA probe) to happen. We were of the view that since the police was unable to establish the motive, the case could be transferred to the CBI. We just want to know the motive. Why was a peace-loving and friendly man killed in this way,” he said, reiterating that his slain brother did not subscribe to any particular ideology, let alone radicalised.
Mahesh said he shared the exchanges with the police in a WhatsApp group in which Umesh was a member, and where he shared social media posts, which may have angered some. “It started as a small group and the members were from Amravati. It was a friendly group and the administrators added more members, some from the pharma sector and others from the community who might have been bothered by my brother’s positions. We have identified them and given all their names to the police.”
Sources said that the alleged mastermind had tried to bring along other people besides his co-accused before the attack on Kolhe. Reconnaissance was carried out for two days to confirm the daily movement of the chemist. Each accused was assigned specific tasks as part of the conspiracy.
Though the case is likely to be officially handed over to the NIA on Monday, a team from the agency reached the city three days ago. The Intelligence Bureau and the State Anti-Terrorism Squad are also interrogating the suspects.
Sources in New Delhi said the killings over alleged insults to the prophet underscore an attempt to enforce an unwritten “anti-blasphemy code” by continuing to spread bigotry and terror. He pointed to threats to two Varanasi judges hearing the Gyanvapi temple issue, saying these were part of a larger plan to “intimidate and terrorize”.
The Amravati police’s statement about Kolhe being killed for supporting Nupur came in the wake of allegations that he had initially tried to hide the motive. BJP’s Maharashtra spokesperson Shivrai Kulkarni met Amaravati CP Singh last week and sought an explanation on the motive behind Kolhe’s murder. Amravati MP Navneet Rana, who clashed with former CM Uddhav Thackeray over the recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa, alleged that the police suppressed the murderers’ intent for political reasons, pointing out that the district’s patron minister belonged to the Congress. .
Amravati Police has denied the allegation of hiding the matter. “Initially, even the family was not aware and they thought it was a robbery attempt. He later denied it. The police worked diligently on all available leads. After eliminating most, the only clue left of the post about Nupur Sharma,” said the police commissioner.
BJP spokesperson Kulkarni, who had earlier raised the demand for handing over the probe to the NIA, said, “We are hopeful that now all the culprits will get their due punishment for this brutal murder. This action will help in building social security and such prevention should happen now so that such killings do not recur anywhere in India.