A veterinary doctor booked for his alleged role in the murder of Amravati-based chemist Umesh Kolhe moved a bail plea before the court on Monday stating that a message, claimed to have been forwarded by him, was seeking Kolhe’s “economic boycott” and he did not have an intent to kill him.
Yusuf Khan Bahadur Khan has approached the special court in Mumbai seeking bail.
Kolhe was murdered on June 21, 2022, by three assailants when he was returning from work, days after he had put up a post on WhatsApp in support of then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial comments against Prophet Mohammed.
Khan was arrested on July 1, 2022, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) alleging that he had forwarded a message against Kolhe after he put up the post in Sharma’s support. It was also alleged that he had “instigated” a co-accused.
Khan’s bail plea, filed through lawyer Shehzad Naqvi, stated that Khan attending in Kolhe’s funeral showed that he was shocked at his death. It added that even if the alleged WhatsApp message, reportedly forwarded by Khan on June 15, 2022 is considered to be true, then also it “merely was a call for economic boycott by cattle owners… and does not tantamount to an intention to kill”.
The plea said that while the NIA has claimed that the incident involved members of the Tablighi Jamaat, Khan belonged to the Barelvi school of thought in Islam, which was ideologically opposed to the former.
The plea also stated that other than calls between Khan and a co-accused, there is no evidence to link him to the conspiracy of Kolhe’s murder.
It added that calls with the co-accused, who is one of Khan’s customers, dated back to May 2022, and therefore could not be said to be connected to Kolhe’s death.
The plea said that while another accused is alleged to be the mastermind, no connection is shown with Khan or to prove that he was part of the “terrorist gang” formed on June 19, 2022.
The accused have all been booked on allegations, including murder and criminal conspiracy under India Penal Code as well as under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Khan’s bail plea further stated that he is not shown to be present at any of the alleged conspiracy meetings or at the spot where Kolhe was murdered or at a “food party” organised allegedly by a co-accused after the murder.
The plea said that while some of the accused were claimed to have been absconding for days after the incident, there is no such allegation against Khan. It added that Khan did not abscond and there is no allegation that he tried to abscond. In fact, whenever, he was called to the police station, he had made himself available, the plea said.
The NIA, which had last December filed a chargesheet against 11 accused, including Khan, was directed to file a reply to the plea by next week.