Amravati pharmacist murder: NIA says accused received international calls before killing

The federal agency informed the special NIA court that the international calls received by one of the arrested accused were being probed to find if there is any foreign connection to the crime.

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said the call data record reflected that one of the seven accused, arrested in connection with the murder of a pharmacist in Amravati, had received international calls before the killing. The call was purportedly over his social media post supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

=File Photo of Amravati-based shop owner Umesh Kolhe who was stabbed to death, in Amaravati. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

The federal agency informed the special NIA court that the international calls received by one of the arrested accused were being probed to find if there is any foreign connection to the crime.

The counsel for the accused, however, maintained that the accused has relatives abroad and he keeps receiving calls from foreign destinations and denied any “foreign connection” as suspected by the agency.

The agency also informed the court all the seven accused would be taken to Rajasthan for further probe.

It is, however, not yet clear, if the agency had found any link between the brutal on-camera beheading of a tailor from Udaipur, purportedly also for supporting former BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad during a television debate.

The NIA on Friday produced all the seven accused before the special court, as their initial NIA custody ended and sought an extension of eight more days in their NIA custody for carrying out further investigation.

The agency claimed that the CDR collected by the NIA reflected that three accused had received international calls and the aspect was being probed. The NIA also said that the accused would also be required to be taken to Rajasthan, for further investigation.

The NIA said the intent of the accused was to terrorise people. NIA is relaying on WhatsApp messages exchanged between the accused and the victim, to prove the intent and motive behind the murder.

As to the progress of the investigation, the agency said they need to recover the vehicles used for the crime and also the weapon - a knife used for the murder.

The plea was opposed by advocate Ali Kaashif Khan, lawyer for the accused. He said a fight between friends has led to the crime, adding that the victim was a chemist and one of the arrested accused is a doctor and friend of the deceased. He also claimed that the two were members of several WhatsApp groups.

Another defence lawyer Sharif Shaikh argued that prior to this another incident has happened in Udaipur and because of that the prosecution was trying to give different colour to this case. The NIA, however, maintained that the murder of the chemist was a terrorist act and had wider ramifications.

After hearing both sides, the special extended NIA custody of all seven till July 22.

According to police, on June 21, three men followed 54-year-old Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe on a bike, when the chemist was on his way back home on a scooter at about 10 pm. The three men stopped his scooter and one of them stabbed him on the left side of the neck. Kolhe was taken to nearby Axon hospital, where he was declared dead during treatment.

The killing had come amid widespread tensions sparked by now suspended Nupur Sharma, who made derogatory statements against Prophet Mohammad. Days after Kolhe’s death, a tailor in Udaipur was beheaded by two men over a similar issue.

Amravati city police had arrested seven persons, including 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, in connection with the murder, and search was on for another accused.

Following orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NIA on July 2 took over the case and on Wednesday took all the seven accused arrested by Amravati city police in their custody. On Wednesday, NIA also conducted searches at 13 places in Amravati and claimed to have seized pamphlets spreading hate messages, knives, mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards and other incriminating documents.