Amravati murder case: NIA probing international connection, says Maharashtra Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbaii: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday asserted that the murder of a 54-year-old chemist (Umesh Kolhe) in Amravati was a “very serious incident”, adding that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also probing the international connection in the case. “Amravati incident very serious, killing is barbaric. Accused, the mastermind has been nabbed. NIA investigating it and finding if there is some international connection. This was initially portrayed as theft, that too will be investigated,” said Fadnavis to reporters today at Vidhan Bhavan today. Meanwhile, a district court in Amravati has sent the key accused and Irfan Sheikh, the mastermind in the murder case to police custody till 7 July. The accused, identified as Irfan Sheikh, was arrested by Amravati police in Nagpur on Sunday. The earlier six accused have been identified as Mudassir Ahmad, age 22; Shah Rukh Pathan, 25; Abdul Thoufique, 24; Shoaib Khan, 22; Atib Rashid, 22 and Yusufkan Bahadur Khan, 44. Irfan Sheikh is the seventh accused to be arrested in the Umesh Kolhe murder case. The number of arrests may increase, said a police official on Sunday. “He (mastermind) was arrested last night. He’s being interrogated. They have a helpline group-Rehbar group. Several people connected to them. 7 accused have been arrested so far. The number of arrests may rise after the arrest of the main accused,” said Nilima Araj, Police Inspector of City Kotwali police station when asked about the mastermind of the Amravati murder. Investigators so far believe that the chemist was killed allegedly in retaliation for a social media post supporting BJP’s Nupur Sharma who had made controversial comments on the Prophet in a television debate. Meanwhile, NIA is yet to formally take over the probe into the killing of a chemist in Maharashtra’s Amravati, a top police official here said on Sunday. Talking to PTI, Dr Arti Singh, the Commissioner of Police of Amravati city in eastern Maharashtra, said, “We have not yet received any orders about the transfer of the case to the NIA. By Monday, we will receive the orders, after which we would formally hand over the case to the central agency as the procedural formalities take some time.” With inputs from PTI Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.