Amravati: Four Detained Over Threat Calls to Those Supporting Nupur Sharma

This comes after 14 people were threatened over their social media posts in Amravati, and one of them was murdered.

Police personnel deployed to maintain law and order after the killing of chemist Umesh Kolhe in Amravati.

(Photo: PTI)

Amravati Police on Wednesday, 6 July, detained four people for making threat calls to people who posted social media posts in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma.

Nilima Araj, police inspector, City Kotwali Police Station, Amravati, said that the detainees are being questioned, news agency ANI reported.

The police have further appealed to people to contact the nearest police station if someone threatens them directly or indirectly over their post on Nupur Sharma, said Amravati Police Commissioner Arti Singh.

She added that the details of the complainant will be kept confidential.

The detentions come after a 22-year-old man in Nagpur's Wardhaman Nagar reportedly received threat calls over a post supporting Nupur Sharma on Instagram on 14 June.

On 17 June, after some people reached his residence to threaten him, he left Nagpur with his family.

The man left Nagpur following the murders of Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe in Udaipur and Amravati respectively over posts supporting Sharma's remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

Background

The Amravati murder took place on 21 June around 10 pm, when Kolhe had closed his shop, Amit Medical Store, located in Rachana Shree Mall near the Amravati Tehsil office.

Umesh Kolhe was one among the 14 people threatened over their social media posts in Amravati and was murdered on his way home.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the custody of seven accused in the murder on Tuesday, 5 July.

While the seven have been sent to a four-day-transit-remand, they will be presented before a Mumbai court on 8 July. The eighth accused in the case is on the run.

Meanwhile, Kanhaiya Lal was killed by Riaz Akhtari and Gos Mohammad on 28 June for supporting Sharma. The two men filmed the killing and later posted a video bragging about it. They were arrested just hours after the incident took place.

Two others, Mohsin and Asif, were arrested on the night of 30 June for allegedly helping the killers escape. NIA had taken over the Udaipur murder investigation as well.

The four accused in the murder were presented at a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on 2 July.