As many as six persons have been apprehended so far for the brutal murder of a shop keeper in Maharashtra’s Amravati on June 21, informed deputy commissioner of police Vikram Sali on Saturday.
Sali was quoted by ANI as saying, “A total of six accused have been arrested so far from Amravati. During the investigation, we found that Umesh Kolhe had posted on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and this incident took place because of that post.”
The brother of the deceased, Mahesh Kolhe has said that the reasons behind the killing are yet to be ascertained. He said that Kolhe had forwarded some messages on Nupur Sharma in some WhatsApp groups but not to anyone individually.
He said, “On June 21 night, while my brother was en route to his home after shutting his shop, some people attacked him and he was stabbed with a knife. When I reached there, he was already dead.”
Earlier today, Union home minister Amit Shah directed the national investigation agency (NIA) to take over the charge of investigations in the matter.
The home minister’s office (HMO) announced this via Twitter which has surfaced having stark similarities with the murder of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur in broad daylight.
The tweet read, “MHA has handed over the investigation of the case relating to the barbaric killing of Shri Umesh Kolhe in Amravati Maharashtra on 21st June to NIA.”
The incident took place exactly a week before the brutal beheading of Udaipur based Tailor by two assailants for his alleged posts in support of the now suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe, a 54-year-old chemist, was killed in Maharashtra's Amravati district for similar reasons, believe investigators.
Two people were arrested following initial investigations by the City Kotwali Police Station in Amravati following a complaint registered by the victim’s son, Sanket Kohle. They have been identified as Muddsir Ahemad, 22, and Shahrukh Pathan, 25.
Based on their statements during interrogation, four more people, out of which three - Abdul Thoufik, 24, Shoaib Khan, 22, and Atib Rashid, 22, were arrested on June 25, while another accused is still absconding.