Amravati: In another shocking incident, a 54-year-old Hindu Chemist named Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe was killed on June 21 for supporting statements made by Nupur Sharma. He was killed while returning home from his shop.
An FIR has been lodged and five Muslim men named Muddasir Ahmed, Shahrukh Pathan, Sohail Khan & Abdul Taufiq have been arrested.
The ISIS style killing came to light after the change of government in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra police had earlier filed a case of robbery against the accused.
The incident took place between 10 pm to 10.30 pm on June 21 when Umesh Kolhe was on his way home after closing his shop ‘Amit Medical Store’. His son Sanket, 27, and wife Vaishnavi were accompanying him on another scooter.
In his complaint, Sanket told the police, “We were moving from Prabhat Chowk and our scooters had reached the Mahila College New High School’s gate. Two men on a motorcycle suddenly came in front of my father’s scooter. They stopped my father’s bike and one of them stabbed him on the left side of his neck with a knife. My father fell and was bleeding. I stopped my scooter and started shouting for help. Another man came and the three fled the spot on the motorcycle.”
"When all of them reached near Mahila College's gate, two motorcycle-borne men came from behind and blocked Kolhe's path. A youth alighted from the motorcycle and stabbed Kolhe on his neck with a sharp weapon and escaped from the spot. Kolhe collapsed on the road in a pool of blood. Sanket rushed him to a hospital, where he died," the official said.
"Kolhe ran a medical store in Amravati city. He had allegedly shared a post on some WhatsApp groups in support of Nupur Sharma for her comments. He even mistakenly shared the post in a WhatsApp group in which some Muslims were also members, including his customers," an official of the City Kotwali police station told PTI.
The Maharashtra ATS team is in Amravati to investigate the matter. It is investigating whether there is any terror angle in the case. The ATS is also investigating whether the same pattern was used by the Amravati accused like the Udaipur accused.
An NIA team has reached Amravati and is likely to take over the investigation. The team is examining the matter and taking details from the Maharashtra Police.