Investigations into the Amravati murder case by National Investigating Agency (NIA) have revealed that controversial godman and Hindu hardliner Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati was one of the prime targets of Umesh Kolhe’s killers. However, the killers had to drop their plan as they did not find travelling down to Ghaziabad and storming the Shiv Shaktidham temple at Dasna amid tight police security a feasible idea. Sources close to the NIA investigations told The Daily Guardian Review that the killers could not execute the plan for lack of funds and an organization big enough to help them carry out the plan. Kolhe’s killers had forewarned him to not post or forward anti-Islam content on social media, said sources.
Not only that, three persons accused in Kolhe’s murder had received suspicious calls from Pakistan, Germany and UK on 25 May. According to sources close to investigations, Irfan Khan, Abdul Taufik and Atib Rashid had received these calls from numbers which are on the NIA’s “suspected list”.
The anti-terror central agency investigators are also looking into possible Pakistan links of the accused and have gone to Rajasthan, where Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor by profession, was murdered in a similar manner on 28 June in Udaipar for supporting controversial former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media.
According to the preliminary investigations by Amravati police, Irfan Khan, the mastermind behind the murder, ran an NGO called ‘Rahbar’ and all the accused were Irfan’s friends and had worked for Rahbar. However, further investigations have revealed that NGO came into being after Narasinghanand’s intermittent one outburst after another outburst against Islam.
According to sources, the accused are orthodox followers of Islam and consider theirs the most pious religion. Narasinghanand had made objectionable comments against Islam before 2020 Delhi riots and then in April 2021 he again made such objectionable remarks against both Islam and Allah. His intemperate remarks did not go well down with the accused and the lack of visible action by authorities against Narasinghanand angered them more as a result of which they all came together to form the NGO. They decided to keep an eye on social media and identify all those who make insulting remarks against Islam and its followers and kill them one by one. Yusuf Khan was given the task to follow the social media.
Using the NGO as a front, Irfan was looking for an organization big enough to support them in their design, said the sources. They had zeroed in on the Kerala-based Islamist outfit the Popular Front of India and Irfan had established contacts with some suspicious persons as well. Kolhe’s Killing was just the beginning of a war for all accused.
Investigations have also revealed that before supporting Sharma on social media, Kolhe had posted objectionable comments on issues like Hijab and Halala. Kolhe and Yusuf Khan were friends and part of a group on WhatsApp on which Kolhe shared or posted anti-Islam comments. The accused had sought action against Kolhe from both district administration and police but no action was taken against him. Kolhe even did not pay any heed to his friend Yusuf Khan’s warning to desist from indulging in such acts. The accused finally decided to bump him off and executed their plan.
Kolhe was hacked to death on 21 June by two motorcycle-borne assailants when he was on his way home after closing his medical store for the day in Amravati. By sheer coincidence, the murder took place when Kolhe’s son was passing by the spot on a scooter along with his wife. It was upon his son’s complaint that police swung into action and nabbed the killers. The 54-year-old chemist was killed for supporting Nupur Sharma on social media. The Kotwali Police of Amravati have booked all accused arrested in the cold-blooded murder under the stringent UAPA Act.
Those arrested are Irfan Khan, the alleged mastermind behind the murder, Mudassar Ahmed alias Sonu Raza Sheikh Ibrahim, Shahrukh Pathan alias Badshasha Hidayat Khan, Abdul Taufik alias Nanu Sheikh Taslim, Shoeb Khan alias Bhurya Sabir Khan, Atib Rashid Aadil Rashid and Yusuf Khan Bahadur Khan. Yusuf Khan, a veterinarian by profession, is a family friend the slain chemist.
The NIA took over the investigations two weeks back.
