On 3rd August 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two more accused in connection with the murder of Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, Maharashtra. The number of accused arrested so far in the case has reached nine. Umesh Kolhe, 54, was stabbed to death on 21st June 2022 for purportedly sending a post supporting the former spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party Nupur Sharma on a social messaging platform.
The NIA, which is now probing this case, apprehended two persons, Murshid Ahmed Abdul Rashid (age 49, resident of Transport Nagar) and Abdul Arbaz Abdul Salim (age 23, resident of Lalkhadi). Police sources said that Abdul Rashid is accused of collecting funds and Abdul Salim is accused of sheltering the other accused in the murder case. Abdul Salim is reportedly the driver of Irfan Khan, the mastermind behind the case. The NIA team has started questioning the accused and it is likely that the houses of the accused will be searched. They will also be brought before the court, where the NIA will request custody.
It is worth noting that, as of now, the NIA has detained seven persons in connection with the murder of Umesh Kolhe, and on July 22, a special NIA court remanded all seven accused to 14 days in judicial custody. Irfan Khan, the main culprit in the case, was apprehended in Nagpur. The other arrested accused include Irfan Khan (age 35), Yusuf Khan (age 44), Muddsir Ahmad (age 22), Shahrukh Pathan (age 25), Abdul Thoufique (age 24) Shoaib Khan (age 22), and Atib Rashid (age 22). Yusuf Khan is a veterinary doctor and was a friend of the deceased Umesh Kolhe. Other accused are daily wage workers. All of them live in Amravati. So far, seven of the eight suspects have been apprehended, with Shamim Ahmed still on the run.
The investigation into Umesh Kohle’s murder began in Police Station City Kotvali in Amaravati, Maharashtra. On July 2, the NIA re-registered the case and took over the investigation. The case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) Sections 16, 18, and 20 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 34, 153 (A), 153 (B), 120 (B), and 302.
As per what is known about the case so far, Umesh Kolhe’s friend Yusuf Khan had spotted Kolhe’s WhatsApp message supporting Nupur Sharma, and had circulated it in other WhatsApp groups. He had also informed about it to Sheikh Irfan Khan, who runs an NGO. Irfan Khan then plotted the murder, and gave the responsibility of recce to Maulana Mudassir Ahmed alias Sonu Raza Sheikh Ibrahim. After that, Irfan Khan engaged four daily wage workers Shahrukh Pathan, Abdul Taufiq, Shoaib Khan and Atib Rashid, who had worked for his NGO earlier, for the execution of the plan.
On the night of June 21, Shoaib stabbed Umesh Kolhe in his neck. Initially the police had said that this was a robbery gone wrong, but after there was a change in the government in Maharashtra, the police admitted that Kohle was killed for supporting Nupur Sharma.
