Mumbai: A special National Investigation Agency(NIA) court in Mumbai on Thursday remanded a man in custody till October 1, a day after he was arrested while seeking to surrender in the murder case of pharmacist Umesh Kolhe.
The absconding accused in the case, Shahim Ahmed, reportedly came to the Mumbai Sessions Court to surrender on Wednesday when the NIA detained him from the court premises. When the accused was produced before the court today, the NIA sought custody for 14 days, but the court allowed it only for 10 days.
In the court proceeding, advocate Sandeep Sadavarte, representing the NIA, argued that the agency needs to have custody of the accused so that the officials can get hold of the remaining accused as well as the weapon and vehicles used in the crime. The NIA also claimed that it has found that the accused has links with international terror groups.
Representing the accused in the case, advocate Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh said that the accused had come to surrender himself before the court on his own, and was arrested while preparing the documents at the court. Deshmukh argued that this was a violation of Section 279 of the IPC and also submitted an application in the matter, and sought a response from the NIA.
Meanwhile, the NIA was to complete 180 days of investigation in the Umesh Kolhe murder case on Friday, owing to which the agency was required to file a charge sheet in the matter. However, the agency sought an extension of 180 days in the sessions court on Monday.
Among the accused arrested by the NIA so far are Irfan Khan (32), Mudassar Ahmed alias Sonu Raza Sheikh Ibrahim (22), Shah Rukh Pathan alias Badshasha Hidayat Khan (25), Abdul Taufiq alias Nanu Sheikh Tasleem (24), Shoaib Khan alias Bhurya Sabir Khan (22), Atib Rashid Adil Rashid (22), and Yusuf Khan Bahadur Khan (44).
Also read: NIA detains two more in Umesh Kolhe murder case
Kolhe was killed in Maharashtra's Amravati city on June 21 after he shared on social media a post purportedly supporting suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad. Shaheem Firoz Ahmed (22), who was nabbed by NIA from the court premises on Wednesday when he had come to surrender before the special judge hearing the matter, was on the run and the probe agency had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for information leading his arrest. Ahmed is the 11th person to be arrested in the case and was sent in the custody of the NIA till October 1 by Special Judge AK Lahoti.
The NIA had sought custody for 14 days to confront him with the other accused in the case. Ahmed's lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan didn't oppose the remand and said the accused wanted to co-operate with the probe agency and, thus, had come to court on Wednesday to surrender. Ahmed is a resident of Zakir Colony in Amravati city of Maharashtra.
The NIA had registered a case in the murder of Kolhe under Indian Penal Code sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), as well as provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
