Mumbai, Dec 16 () The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed its charge sheet in a Special NIA Court in Mumbai against 11 accused in the killing of the Amravati-based pharmacy shop owner Umesh Kolhe, officials said here on Friday.
Kolhe was killed in Amravati while returning home late on June 21 after he allegedly shared a social media post endorsing the former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed.
The accused named by the NIA in the charge sheet include: Mubashir Ahmed, Abdul Tauseef Shaikh, Mohammed Shoeb, Shahrukh Khan, Atik Rashid, Yusuf Khan, Irfan Khan, Abdul Arbaz, Mustiq Ahmed, Shakeel Sheikh and Shamim Ahmed.
The killing took place at the height of the political turmoil in the state which saw the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government toppled, and the murder came into prominence only much later.
Following a political uproar, the case – which was originally probed by the Amravati City Kotwali Police Station since June 22 – was handed over to the NIA on July 2, as per the directions of the Union Home Ministry.
The latest development came after the Special NIA Court in September granted the Central probe agency an extension of 90 days to file the charge sheet.
qn/uk/