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‘Gang created to strike terror’: HC denies bail to veterinary doctor in chemist murder

Chemist Umesh Kolhe was murdered on June 21, 2022, when he was returning from work, days after he had put up a post on social media, in support of then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jan 20, 2026 10:39 PM IST

Yusuf Khan, veterinary doctor, murder, Umesh Kolhe

Yusuf Khan was booked for offences of murder, criminal conspiracy among others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). (Express file photo)

Denying bail to veterinary doctor Yusuf Khan booked for the 2022 murder of Amravati-based chemist Umesh Kolhe, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday observed that there was prima facie case of “grave and heinous” offence and of creating gang to “strike terror” in among general public.

Kolhe was murdered on June 21, 2022, when he was returning from work, days after he had put up a post on social media, in support of then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose comments about Prophet Muhammad had created a controversy.

A bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak passed an order on Khan’s appeal challenging the order of Special judge designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act that rejected his bail plea.

As per prosecution, Kolhe owned a veterinary medical shop and Khan, who was a veterinary doctor and the only Muslim person in their WhatsApp group consisting of other veterinary chemists and medical representatives, regularly bought medicines from Kolhe’s shop.

On June 14, 2022, as per prosecution, Kolhe posted a photo of the then BJP spokesperson along with message in support of her comment, which allegedly offended Khan.

The agency further claimed Khan, to avenge Kolhe, allegedly took a screenshot of the message, typed his own instigating text, tagged it to screenshot of post by the chemist and posted it on other WhatsApp group to expose Kolhe and spread hatred against him.

Khan was booked for offences of murder, criminal conspiracy among others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

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Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, for Kahn, argued that his client only wanted that business of Kolhe get adversely affected by persuading the other veterinary doctors to stop purchasing medicines from him and there was no other intention behind sending the message in question.

After perusing material on record, Justice Chandak for the bench noted that “the appellant drafted his message in such a manner that, on reading it any individual or group of individuals would easily get angry and make up their mind to avenge the deceased”.

“Considering the material on record, prima facie it appears that, a terrorist gang was formed by the accused persons under the leadership of another accused to avenge the alleged dishonour of their faith by the deceased, by brutally killing him and to strike terror into the hearts and minds of general public irrespective of whether they supported the spokesperson’s comment or not,” the HC observed.

The court, while dismissing the appeal, held, “We are of the prima facie view that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accusation against the pppellant is prima facie true. Undoubtedly, the offence alleged is grave and heinous in nature. Such offences affect the very core and conscious of the society, make it vulnerable and think to live in constant fear.”