Amravati pharmacist murder case: NIA court rejects discharge plea of accused

Special judge Chakor S Baviskar held that there was “more than prima facie sufficient material” to put Atib Rashid on trial, citing CCTV footage, witness statements, and call records

MUMBAI: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday rejected the discharge plea of Atib Rashid, an accused in the alleged conspiracy behind the 2022 killing of Umesh Kolhe, a veterinary chemist in Amravati.

Umesh Kolhe was ambushed and killed by motorcycle-borne assailants while returning home on his scooter in Amravati on June 21, 2022. (ANI)

Special judge Chakor S Baviskar held that there was “more than prima facie sufficient material” to put Rashid on trial, citing CCTV footage, witness statements, and call records.

“Each and every accused in this case, including the present one, was commonly and voluntarily pursuing the same end. There appears to be unity of minds in the object to be achieved,” the judge said.

The rejection of the discharge plea means Rashid will face trial in the case.

Kolhe was ambushed and killed by motorcycle-borne assailants while returning home on his scooter in Amravati on June 21, 2022. According to the NIA, Rashid and two other accused, Mohammad Shoaib and Shahim Ahemad, conspired to kill Kolhe after he shared a social media post supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose comments on Prophet Muhammad had triggered protests across the country.

The following night, at around 10.20 pm, Shoaib allegedly stabbed Kolhe in the neck while Shahim was about to attack him with another knife. Kolhe’s son and daughter-in-law, who were following him on another motorcycle, raised an alarm. The assailants then fled on a motorcycle driven by Rashid, the NIA alleged.

The prosecution said that Rashid had left his phone and those of the alleged assailants in an ambulance before going to the spot to avoid being traced. Soon after the murder, he allegedly told co-accused Irfan Khan: “Us gustakh Amit Medical wale ko chaku se maar diya.” (That insolent man from Amit Medical has been killed with a knife).

The NIA further alleged that Rashid deleted data from his phone and those of the other two accused, which investigators recovered using technical expertise.

The court noted that CCTV footage showed Rashid at and near the crime scene before the murder and that it supported witness accounts of his alleged role. However, whether Rashid could be identified in the footage would be determined during the trial, the judge said.

The defence argued that he was wearing a scarf in the footage. The judge said that covering his face at night “shows his ill motive and guilty mind at least at this stage and at least prima facie”.

The court also noted that the NIA had statements from eyewitnesses other than Kolhe’s son and daughter-in-law, as well as call records and tower location data. It also noted call records showing that Rashid had allegedly made 572 calls to Shoaib, while Shoaib made 766 calls to Rashid around the time of the murder.

The defence argued that there was no direct or documentary evidence of a conspiracy. The judge said this “may be acceptable to some extent”, but was no ground for discharge, since direct evidence of conspiracy is seldom available and it can be inferred from surrounding facts and circumstances.

The court also rejected the defence’s argument that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) could not apply because the alleged crime did not involve a banned organisation. The judge said the accused had allegedly formed their own “terrorist gang”, and that the law does not require a terrorist act to be committed by a banned organisation. Even a single person can commit one, he added.

The court also held that the defence’s challenge to the UAPA sanction was irrelevant at the discharge stage.