Amravati chemist killing: Court sends seven accused to NIA custody till July 15

Kolhe was murdered on June 21 while he was on his way home after closing his shop. The Maharashtra Police, which was initially investigating the case, had said that Kolhe was killed allegedly for a social media post supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial comments against the Prophet in a TV debate.

The NIA special public prosecutor told the court that the incident was a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and the probe was not limited to Amravati. The prosecutor added that Kolhe’s wife and son, who were accompanying him on another scooter on the night of the incident, had said that the reason behind the murder was not any old enmity.

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Claiming that the offence was committed to “terrorise people”, the prosecutor said that the NIA probe showed prima facie involvement of the seven men in the terror case. The agency said that the Union government was also in the know of the case, as it was a serious offence, and that a similar incident had taken place elsewhere.

The NIA has also taken over the probe into the killing of a tailor in Udaipur for allegedly sharing remarks made by Nupur Sharma.

In the Amravati probe, the NIA has invoked charges of the anti-terror law, including sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (punishment for conspiracy) and 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA.

Lawyers Sharif Shaikh and Ali Kaashif Khan, representing the accused, opposed the remand plea stating that the seven men have already been interrogated in custody in Amravati. They added that while an unfortunate incident had taken place and the accused are facing charges of murder, the NIA has not made any submissions on how UAPA can be invoked.

“No name of any terrorist gang or organisation has been given by the prosecution. The remand does not mention any grounds for invocation of Section 16 of the UAPA. (An) unfortunate incident has taken place but it is being given a different colour. It is not the case that the accused are shown to be part of any banned organisation listed in the schedule as per UAPA,” Shaikh said.

The NIA sought the custody of the seven men for two weeks stating that it should be given an opportunity to probe the alleged conspiracy.

It added that there were more suspects in the case, including one who is absconding.