Amravati: Investigators have said that one of the seven accused in the killing of pharmacist Umesh Kolhe on June 21 in Amravati was Kolhe's regular buyer and owed a large amount of money to him. It has been learned that Dr. Yusuf Khan, who was present at Kolhe's funeral, used to buy regular medicines from Kolhe, who has helped him financially many times due to his close acquaintance while Yusuf owed a large amount of money to Kolhe.
Meanwhile, all seven accused were granted four-day transit remand after being produced before the Amravati court in connection with the murder. Amravati Police to present all accused before NIA's Mumbai court on or before July 8. The police on Saturday arrested the suspected mastermind and seventh accused in the case.
A district court in Amravati has sent the key accused Irfan Sheikh, the mastermind in the murder case to police custody till July 7. On Saturday, Vikram Sali, DCP Amravati said that during the investigation, the police found that 54-year-old Umesh Kolhe, a chemist by profession, had posted on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and was killed for the same.
According to the police, the accused committed the offense since the victim had allegedly shared a post on a social messaging platform in support of Nupur Sharma, whose remarks on Prophet Mohammad led to nationwide protests and global condemnation.
Also read: Maha chemist killed for supporting Nupur, seven arrested; Home Ministry orders NIA probe
"He had allegedly shared a post on some WhatsApp groups in support of Nupur Sharma for her comments. He even mistakenly shared the post in a WhatsApp group in which some Muslims were also members, including his customers," an official of the City Kotwali police station said. After that, Irfan Khan hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Kolhe and roped in five persons for it. He promised to give Rs 10,000 to them and a safe escape in a car, he said.
The incident occurred between 10 pm and 10.30 pm on June 21, when Kolhe was going home on a two-wheeler after closing his shop, he said, adding that his son Sanket (27) and wife Vaishnavi were accompanying him in a different vehicle. "When all of them reached near Mahila College's gate, two motorcycle-borne men came from behind and blocked Kolhe's path.
A youth alighted from the motorcycle and stabbed Kolhe on his neck with a sharp weapon and escaped from the spot. Kolhe collapsed on the road in a pool of blood. Sanket rushed him to a hospital, where he died," the official said. Based on Sanket's complaint, an FIR was registered and five persons were arrested.
The arrested are identified as Muddasir Ahmad (22), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Abdul Thoufique (24) Shoaib Khan (22), and Atib Rashid (22), all residents of Amravati and daily wage workers. The police seized the knife used in the crime and obtained the CCTV footage that captured the sequence of events.
