The National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a special court in Mumbai that the murder of Amravati chemist Umesh Kolhe is a "larger conspiracy" and the accused involved in the case wanted to "strike terror amongst a section of people."
The NIA sought the custody of the seven men for two weeks stating to conduct a probe in the alleged conspiracy. It added that there were more suspects in the case, including one who is absconding.
The First Information Report (FIR) by the central agency stated:
"Killing of Maharashtra's Amravati's Umesh Kolhe was act of larger conspiracy by a group of persons who have inter-alia conspired amongst themselves to strike terror amongst a section of people of India and with their assertions attempted to promote enmity on grounds of religion."
The high court on Thursday has sent the seven accused – Irfan Khan (35), Yusuf Khan (44), Muddassir Shaikh (22), Abdul Taufiq Taslim (24), Shahrukh Pathan (25), Shoaib Khan (22), and Atib Rashid (22) to NIA custody till 15 July.
The central agency’s public prosecutor told the court that the killing was a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and said that the act was committed to “terrorise people.”
The accused have also been charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including Sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (punishment for conspiracy), and Section 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA.
The NIA added that the Union government was aware of the grim incident in Amravati as a similar incident had taken place elsewhere.
The 54-year-old chemist was murdered on 21 June after he closed his shop and was on his way home on a scooter along with his son. The Maharashtra Police had said that he was allegedly killed for social media posts supporting the controversial statements on Prophet Muhammad made by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Initially the case was being investigated by the Maharashtra Police but was transferred to NIA earlier this week.
The central agency is also investigating the murder of a tailor in Udaipur for allegedly sharing social media posts made by Nupur Sharma.
NIA Slams 'Fake' Social Media Posts Issuing Helpline Numbers
The NIA also clarified on Thursday that it has not provided any helpline numbers for the public to inform them of calls for killing people in connections with remarks made by Nupur Sharma.
It issued a statement after social media posts claimed that the agency had opened helplines for Muslims or Muslim organisations making threatening calls on social media against individuals, reported The Indian Express.
The agency added that the numbers shared in public domain were for information against the Islamic State and not in relation with the Nupur Sharma controversy.
It said, “It has come to notice that certain misleading messages purportedly issued by NIA are being circulated on various social media platforms. Everyone is hereby informed that NIA has not issued any such message. Such messages are totally fake and malicious and are part of a mischievous design to mislead the public.”
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express.)
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