Amravati police chief tried to hide chemist’s killing by calling it robbery, alleges MP Navneet Rana

Amravati MP Navneet Rana has levelled allegations against the city police commissioner in the case of a chemist’s murder, which has sparked outrage, just days after the beheading of a tailor in Udaipur whose throat was slit last month over supporting suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comment on Prophet Mohammad.

Rana claimed that the city’s police commissioner, Aarti Singh, attempted to cover up the murder as a robbery. “She is providing clarification on the incident after 12 days… She initially claimed it was a robbery and tried to suppress the case. An enquiry must also be done against Amravati Commissioner of Police,” the MP said.

Umesh Kolhe, 54, was killed on his way back home from work on June 21 in Maharashtra’s Amravati city, by two men on a motorcycle. The murder took place just a week before a similar one in Udaipur.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Rana said: “We wrote a letter to union home minister Amit Shah, and he took action by sending the NIA. After 12 days Amravati CP came in front of the media, and said that the case is similar to the Udaipur murder, and is related to content posted about Nupur Sharma.” “After 12 days she’s giving clarification on the incident. She first said that it was a robbery and tried to suppress the case. An enquiry must also be done against Amravati CP,” she added.

The killing, according to the police, was connected to social media posts supporting leader Nupur Sharma, who had been expelled from the BJP for making divisive comments about the Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate. The case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to police, a seventh arrest has been made in the investigation, including the alleged mastermind of the murder.

Irfan Khan, a 32-year-old native, was detained on Saturday in Nagpur. According to the police commissioner, Khan had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to murder Kolhe and also roped in others.

Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana were arrested in April after announcing their plan to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s private residence ‘Matoshree.’ The pair later cancelled the idea, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city the next day.