Amravati pharmacist’s murder: Killers radicalised by Tablighi Jamaat, says NIA

Kolhe, who ran a medical store in Amravati, was going home on his scooter on the night of June 21 when he was hacked to death by three young men on a bike.

The men suspected of killing Amravati pharmacist Umesh Kolhe were radicalised members of Tablighi Jamaat and were instigated by activist Irfan Khan and maulvi Mushifique Ahmad, the National Investigating Agency has said in a charge sheet.

According to the NIA charge sheet, the conspiracy to kill Kolhe began with one of the accused, Yusuf Khan, a veterinary doctor, circulating a message that Kolhe had posted on one of the groups -- black freedom -- on June 14.

Kolhe, who ran a medical store in Amravati, was going home on his scooter on the night of June 21 when he was hacked to death by three young men on a bike. Kolhe’s son and son’s wife were on a different vehicle plying with him but they could not save him. It was the second attempt to kill the pharmacist, the NIA said.

In its charge sheet filed on Friday against 11 accused, the federal agency said: “Radicalised Islamist of the Tablighi Jamaat committed murder of Umesh Kolhe.”

The 11 men were influenced by the ideology of brutality, it said. “Gustaki Nabi ki ek hi saja - sar tan se juda (there’s only one punishment for blasphemy against the Prophet, beheading),” the NIA said in the charge sheet.

As per the agency, the murder had taken place a week before the beheading of a tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in full public view in Udaipur, Rajasthan, on June 28 over the same issue of supporting Nupur Sharma, former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson who had made controversial statements about Prophet Muhammad.

According to the NIA charge sheet, the conspiracy to kill Kolhe began with one of the accused, Yusuf Khan, a veterinary doctor, circulating a message that Kolhe had posted on one of the groups -- black freedom -- on June 14. The NIA claimed that Khan took a screen shot of the post after changing Kolhe’s number and circulated it in another group -- Kalim Ibrahim -- created by him. NIA said the conspiracy to kill Kolhe began with this circulation of messages.

The agency said that after the post on June 19, all the main accused -- Mohammad Shoeb, Atib Rashid, Irfan Khan and Shahim Ahemad -- met at Gausiya Hall, Amravati. The group decided to kill Kolhe in the meeting where Khan agreed to extend them all support.

“In the said meeting, Irfan instructed them not to carry mobile phones, to wear black T-shirts and track pants and compulsorily cover faces by scarf to conceal their identity. Thus, the accused persons with their common intention formed a terrorist gang under the leadership of A-7 (Irfan) to kill Umesh Kolhe for striking terror into the hearts and minds of the general population who supported Napur Sharma’s statement,” the NIA said in its charge sheet.

It was decided by the group on June 20 that it will kill Kolhe while he left for his medical shop. However, the plan failed as Kohle did not turn up. After this, Irfan Khan prepared another plan, and constituted a recce team to keep a watch on Kohle’e movements. The group again met on the night of June 20 with other accused -- Shaikh Shakil, Abdul Arbaz Mudassir Ahmed, Abdul Taufeeque Shaikh and Atib -- who gathered with Irfan Khan to devise a strategy to execute their plan.

The recce party helped the assailants Mohammad Shoeb and Shahim Ahemad to locate Kolhe. When he reached the spot, the two stopped his bike and Shoeb attacked him with a knife.

The investigation revealed that the accused ran away after the killing and met Irfan Khan at a place where he had arranged a party to celebrate the murder. The agency claimed that Abdul Arbaz, who was part of the group, went to the hospital to confirm that Kolhe was dead and conveyed this to Irfan Khan, who later informed about the death to maulvi Ahmad.

The NIA has also said that prior to killing Kolhe, three residents of Amravati -- Shreegopal Chandulal Rathi, Vishal Rajesh Bahad and Jai Kumar Achhada -- were threatened by the radicalized persons for their posts extending support to Sharma on various media.

On June 9, Rathi had posted a message and photo in support of Sharma on his WhatsApp status. He immediately received a call from an unknown number, who introduced himself as Razique Baig from Rehebar helpline. The conversation was made viral on social media. He received several threat calls and was made to prepare a video apologizing for his post and was asked to post it on social media. Rathi was given police protection thereafter.

On June 10, a mobile repair shop owner had posted a status message on WhatsApp in support of Sharma, but deleted it in few minutes. But news about his status went viral and he received several threat calls from Mudassir Ahmed, Shakeel Shaikh and other accused, who are also booked for Kohle’s murder.

Two days later on June 12, one Bahad posted a message in support of Sharma on social media and was threatened by Mudassir. Bahad left the city and returned only after 15 days.

The NIA said that Irfan Khan, a real estate dealer, was the mastermind behind the murder. The agency claimed that Khan turned out to be a black horse in the conspiracy. The agency said that Irfan Khan had set up an NGO called Rehebar and ran a helpline under this organisation, which used to provide ambulance services to the needy, and would help people to resolve domestic conflicts.