Amravati pharmacist Umesh Kolhe was brutally murdered by 11 radicals who are members of the controversial Islamic outfit Tablighi Jamaat, an NIA chargesheet has stated. The accused were also highly influenced by the ideology of “Gustakh-E-Nabi Ki Ek Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda.” (Beheading is the only punishment for anyone who criticizes the Prophet), the chargesheet states.

Those named in the chargesheet are Irfan Shaikh, Md. Shoaib Khan, Mudassir Ahmed, Aatif Rashid, Dr. Yusuf Khan, Abdul Toufiq, Shahrukh Pathan, Shamim Ahmed, Abdul Arbaz, Maulavi Mushfique Ahmed and Shaikh Shakil.

Umesh Kolhe was murdered on June 21 after he made a WhatsApp post in support of Nupur Sharma. The former BJP spokesperson became an object of worldwide Islamist hate after notorious ‘fact checker’ Md. Zubair of Alt News posted an out of context clip of Nupur responding to an Islamist panelist from the now-banned PFI group during a TV debate.

“Investigation has clearly emerged that the accused persons hatched criminal conspiracy to kill Umesh Kolhe who had no property dispute, no history of fighting with the accused persons; thereby formed a terrorist gang being highly religiously radicalised to avenge Umesh Kolhe who posted WhatsApp post in support of Nupur Sharma,” the NIA chargesheet says.

A Tablighi Jamaat maulvi, Mushfique Ahmed, and a ‘social activist’, Irfan Shaikh, played a key role in instigating others for the murder. But Umesh Kolhe was betrayed by his long-time friend Dr. Yusuf Khan, a man whom he had helped multiple times in the past such as for his sister’s wedding and children’s admission.

According to the NIA chargesheet, Dr. Yusuf Khan purposefully took screenshots of Umesh’s post made on June 14 and disseminated it in a group called “Kalim Ibrahim,” which was founded by Irfan and others. This is where the plan to kill Kolhe began, with the intent of striking terror into anyone who dare support Nupur Sharma’s stand on the manufactured controversy.

After Dr. Yusuf Khan’s post on June 19, all of the key suspects, namely Mohammad Shoaib, Aatif Rashid, Irfan Shaikh, and Shamim Ahmed, gathered in Gausiya Hall in Amravati and resolved to kill Umesh while Irfan promised to provide them with all possible help.

“In the said meeting Irfan instructed them not to carry mobile phones, to wear black T-shirts and track pants and compulsorily to cover their faces with a scarf to conceal their identity. Thus, the accused persons with their common intention formed a terrorist gang under the leadership of A-7 (Irfan) to kill Umesh Kolhe for striking terror into the hearts and minds of the general population,” the chargesheet filed by NIA read.

On June 20, the accused were to eliminate him when he was leaving for his medical shop. The strategy, however, failed when Umesh Kohle did not show up. After this, Irfan developed another strategy and formed a spy unit to monitor Umesh s movements to execute their conspiracy. On the night of June 20, the gang then reconvened with other accused, including Shaikh Shakil, Abdul Arbaz, Mudassir Ahmed, Abdul Toufiq, and Aatif Rashid, to replan the murder.

The spy unit assisted Mohammad Shoaib and Shamim Ahmed, in finding Umesh Kolhe on the night of June 21 when he was returning from his shop. When he arrived at the location, the two stopped their bike, and Shoaib attacked Umesh with a knife.  His son and daughter-in-law, who were on another scooter, witnessed the incident.

The inquiry indicated that after the murder, the accused fled and met Irfan, who had planned a party to commemorate the crime. According to the agency, Abdul Arbaz, a member of the gang, went to the hospital to confirm Umesh’s death and notified Irfan, who then informed the Tablighi Jamaat Maulvi.

The NIA chargesheet says that Irfan Shaikh, a real estate dealer who is a strict follower of the Tablighi Jamaat and its rules, was the mastermind behind the murder. Shaikh had established an NGO called Rehebar Helpline during the pandemic to provide free ambulance services to the poor, conduct final rituals of unclaimed bodies and assist in medical treatments. He had become the organisation’s president with help of jamaat followers and supporters.

The agency has said that the murder threatened the unity of the country and promoted enmity among communities. It said that the manner in which Kohle was murdered shall send shivers down the spine of general population of this peace-loving, democratic country, and was designed to prevent them from daring to speak up for what they think is right or wrong. The act committed by the accused is not just a simple murder but a terror act of well-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by religiously radicalised Muslim youth (Tablighi Jamaat) to strike a terror into the minds of the people and section of people in Amravati and other states of India, the chargesheet says.

On Monday, a special court took cognizance of the NIA chargesheet and remanded the accused in further judicial custody till January 2.

Failure of the secular Indian state

The NIA also stated that before the murder of Kolhe, three Amravati citizens, Shreegopal Chandulal Rathi, Vishal Rajesh Bahad, and Jai Kumar Achhada, were also threatened by the same accused or persons known to them, for their posts on different media standing in support of Nupur Sharma. Rathi had posted on June 9, Achhada on June 10, and Bahad on June 12. Bahad was threatened so much by Mudassir that he felt compelled to leave the city. Two of them had to placate the Islmaists with apology videos. All three were later given police protection, after Umesh was murdered.

Umesh Kolhe’s death initially did not make the news and was spoken of as ‘robbery related’. On June 28, tailor Kanhaiya Lal had his throat slit by 2 Islamists in broad daylight inside his shop in Udaipur, over the same issue of posting in support of Nupur Sharma’s right to defend her religion. Kanhaiya had been receiving threats, engineered by his neighbours, despite deleting the post in question. Police brokered a ‘compromise’ on June 11 after an FIR was lodged by his neighbour against Kanhaiya. But he continued receiving threats and lodged a complaint with police on June 15. Police shrugged it off, saying, “Agreement has been reached, take care of yourself, if you feel anything, tell us.”

Later, the real reason behind Umesh Kolhe’s murder came to light after MP Navneet Rana raised the issue and forced Amravati CP Arti Singh to reveal the truth. Both probes were later handed over to NIA.

If police had been on their toes and pro-actively monitoring death threats by Islamists on social media, they could have prevented things from escalating. If they had taken stern action against those threatening Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur, and those threatening ordinary citizens in Udaipur from early June itself, the Islamist network would never have been emboldened to this extent.

Our judiciary also needs to be asked tough questions. When they go soft on terrorists who have sworn an oath to leaders of IS (Islamic State), what message are they sending? Tablighi Jamaat is a dangerous Sunni Deobandi revivalistic org that started in the Mewat region around 100 years back with the goal of ‘reforming’ subcontinental Muslims by removing ‘unIslamic’ practices. Imagine – an organization dedicated to destroying whatever syncretic traditions Indian Muslims had retained from their Hindu ancestry, is today being held up as a representative of Islam by the same left-liberals who accuse Hindus of moving away from Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb aka composite culture.

Tablighi Jamaat is banned even in Saudi Arabia for its links to terror outfits, and is widely seen by global intelligence agencies as a gateway organization for Islamic terror networks. Yet, when ordinary citizens criticized this organization for appalling behavior of its followers with nurses and officials in quarantine centers during the pandemic peak, including foreign members in violation of their visa norms, mainstream media and sections of judiciary slammed citizens for ‘bigotry’!

Kanhaiya Lal’s murderers Muhammad Riyaz Attari and Muhammad Ghaus were radicalized through their association with Pakistan-based Barelvi proselytising org Dawat-e-Islami, and had also met a top cleric of Ajmer Dargah before carrying out the barbaric murder.