A special court in Mumbai has denied bail to an accused in the killing of Amravati-based pharmacist Umesh Kolhe last year, as reported by news agency PTI on Monday. The court said that there are specific allegations and material to show the applicant participated in the conspiracy of the crime. Kolhe was killed on June 21, 2022, in eastern Maharashtra's Amravati city after he shared posts on social media backing former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over the latter's comments about Prophet Mohammad.
In an order passed on November 10, Special Judge Rajesh Katariya noted there was ample material against accused Mushifique Ahmad regarding his involvement in the alleged conspiracy of commission of crime, as reported by PTI. “The offence is very serious in nature,” the court said. It further stated that the allegations made by the prosecuting agency, the National Investigation Agency, and the material submitted by it in the chargesheet reveal a prime facie case against Ahmad.
"Considering the totality of the material, there is a role of the applicant (Ahmad) in the crime. There are specific allegations and material to show that the applicant had participated in the conspiracy of crime and aided the co-accused persons,” the court said, as quoted by PTI. It cannot be said that the accusations against Ahmad are “inherently improbable or wholly unbelievable,” the judge said.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the accusation against the applicant are prima facie true,” the court said in its order rejecting bail.
In his bail plea, Ahmad claimed he was implicated in the case and that he had no role in the commission of the alleged offence. He said he was an Imam of a local mosque and a social worker, as reported by PTI. The NIA opposed the plea and claimed Ahmad was one of the main conspirators, and he played a vital role in helping the other co-accused in the case.
The court, in its order, noted Ahmad and another accused in the case called a meeting of members of the Muslim community on June 9, 2022, to discuss the comment made by Nupur Sharma. The NIA has arrested 11 people pertaining to the case and claimed that radicalised Islamists of the Tablighi Jamaat killed Kolhe for supporting Sharma's statement.
According to PTI, the accused have been booked under the Indian Penal Code on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder, promoting enmity, and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for committing a terrorist act and for being a member of a terror gang.