Amravati accused hit out at Macron after Hebdo shooting: Cops

NAGPUR/NEW DELHI: Amravati police commissioner Arti Singh said the murder of chemist Umesh Kolhe, prima facie, seemed to be the fallout of the backlash against Kolhe's social media campaign in support of Nupur. She clarified that the motive could be confirmed only after interrogating the mastermind, Irfan Khan, a school dropout who runs the Amravati-based NGO Rahbariya Foundation and provides a free ambulance service to underprivileged Muslims through a helpline.

The police said Irfan had once written to the ministry of external affairs, condemning French president Emmanuel Macron's remark that "Islamists will never have France's future" after the Charlie Hebdo shooting. He demanded a ban on import of French goods.

Only two out of the seven arrested for Kolhe's murder - Irfan and co-accused Taufik alias Nanu Sheikh Taslim - had previously been named in any police case. The others - Mudassir Ahmed alias Sonu Raza Sheikh Ibrahim, Shahrrukh Pathan alias Badshash Hidayat Khan, Shoeb Khan alias Bhurya Sabir Khan, Atib Rashid alias Aadil Rashid and Yusuf Khan alias Bahadur Khan - are facing charges for the first time.

Kolhe was riding his scooter back home on June 21 when he was waylaid and murdered. His son Sanket and daughter-in-law Vaishnavi, who were carrying Rs 35,000 in cash, had been following him on another two-wheeler. The police ruled out robbery as a possible motive because the assailants didn't touch Kolhe's bags and mobile phone. "The killers might have beheaded him had Vaishnavi and I not caught up with them and started screaming," Sanket said.

"The MHA has handed over the investigation of the case relating to the barbaric killing of Shri Umesh Kolhe in Amravati Maharashtra on June 21 to the NIA. The conspiracy behind the killing, involvement of organisations and international linkages would be thoroughly investigated," said a tweet from the official handle of the Union home minister.

Umesh's brother Mahesh expressed gratitude to Shah for ordering the probe. "We did not expect this (NIA probe) to happen. Our impression was that since the police were unable to establish the motive, the case might be transferred to the CBI. All we want is to know is the motive. Why was a peace-loving and friendly man killed in that manner," he said, iterating that his slain brother did not subscribe to any particular ideology, let alone become a hardliner.

Mahesh said he shared with the police the exchanges in a WhatsApp group Umesh was a member of, and where he shared social media posts that may have offended a few. "It started as a small group and members were from Amravati. It was a friendly group and the administrators added more members, some from the pharma sector and others from the other community who may have felt upset with my brother's posts. We have identified them and given all their names to the police."

Sources said a recce was done for two days to confirm the chemist's daily commute. Each accused was assigned tasks as part of the plot.