Amravati killing case: NIA arrests 10th accused

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the 10th accused in the killing of Maharashtra's Amravati-based pharmacist Umesh Kolhe on June 21.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the 10th accused in the killing of Maharashtra's Amravati-based pharmacist Umesh Kolhe on June 21. The accused, identified as Shaikh Shakeel, 28, was arrested on Thursday.

The NIA said that Shakeel played an "active role" in the murder conspiracy and resides in the Sarkar Palace area in Amravati. Earlier, nine accused persons were arrested in the case on June 23, June 24, June 25, July 2 and August 2.

The case was initially registered by Maharashtra Police on June 22 and the NIA re-registered the case on July 2 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. NIA FIR says that the killing of Kolhe was an act of a "larger conspiracy by a group of persons" who conspired to strike terror amongst a section of people of India with their assertions attempted to promote enmity on the grounds of religion.

Kolhe's murder, the FIR also mentions, was carried out as part of the conspiracy to "terrorise a section of the people of India and the case may have national and international linkages". Kolhe, 54, was hacked to death on June 21 night after he wrote a post in support of former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nupur Sharma on Facebook.

The FIR mentions that City Kotwali Police Station in Maharashtra's Amravati received information about the brutal killing of Kolhe by using a knife, and filed a case on June 22 against three unidentified accused persons. The case was registered on the complaint of Sanket Umesh Kolhe, the son of the deceased. A resident of the Ghanashyam Nagar area in Amravati, Kolhe was killed around 10 pm to 10.30 pm on June 21 while he was returning to his home.

The NIA was directed by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 1 to take over the case, and order followed regarding this from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Investigators so far believe that Kolhe was killed allegedly in retaliation for a social media post supporting BJP's Nupur Sharma who had made controversial comments on the Prophet in a television debate.

The killing took place exactly a week before tailor Kanhaiyalal Teli was hacked to death in Rajasthan's Udaipur district, a case that shocked the whole country. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)