Accused vet seeks bail, claims he is staunch Sunni Muslim, not Tablighi Jamaat member

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Yusuf Khan, an accused in the 2022 murder of Amravatibased pharmacist Umesh Kolhe, who had shared social media posts backing suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma over the latter’s alleged objectionable comments about Prophet Mohammad, on Monday moved a bail application before a special NIA court.

Khan, a veterinary doctor, in his plea claimed he was not a “Tablighi Jamaat” member as claimed by the NIA and that he was falsely arrayed as a coaccused despite not an “iota of evidence” against him for being part of the conspiracy to kill Kolhe.

As per the NIA, Kolhe was killed by “radicalised Islamists of Tablighi Jamaat”.

In his bail plea filed through advocate Shehzad Naqvi, accused Khan said he was a staunch Sunni Muslim following the “Barelvi School of Thought”, which is based on “Sufi mystic teachings” and was not a member of

‘Broken exam system fuelled private coaching’

First India Bureau

Jalna: Defective examination system has given birth to private coaching classes and mass copying in exams, Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Managing Director Vivek Sawant said. He was speaking on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 at a programme held in a college in Jalna on Saturday. Lauding the NEP, Sawant said, “Examination system under it would be comprehensive and facilitate continuous assessment of a child. The present examination system does not assess the overall quality of a child and called for overhauling it. How can a child be judged through an examination of two or three hours?” the “Tablighi Jamaat” as claimed by the prosecution. “Nor has the prosecution produced any document to substantiate the said allegation in the entire chargesheet nor has any witness alleged the same against the present applicant,” his bail plea contended.

The “defective examination system has given birth to private coaching classes” and they have a whopping turnover, he said and targeted teachers wasting their energy on forming associations, fighting for salary hike and other benefits, thereby degrading the quality of education.

It further claimed the prosecution has not been able to establish

Khan had any intention to cause the murder (of Kolhe) in order to invoke UAPA or IPC provisions.

As per the NIA, Khan instigated the other accused by forwarding a message shared by Kolhe in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on a Whatsapp group, of which the accused was also a member.

Even if the WhatsApp message allegedly forwarded on June, 15, 2022 by the present applicant is considered true for the sake of argument, even then it is merely a call for economic boycott of cattle owners (locally referred to as ‘goore wale’) and does not not tantamount to an intention to kill, Khan’s application said. death of sitting BJP MLAs Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap from Kasba and Chinchwad, respectively.

Subsequent to the said alleged message, there is no allegation or prima-facie proof presented by the prosecution that Khan met the alleged mastermind or contacted any other accused in the case, the plea further contended.

The NIA has said alleged mastermind Irfan Khan led a “terrorist gang” to kill Kolhe and avenge the “insult” of Prophet Mohammad.

Yusuf Khan, in his bail plea, said this (formation of terrorist gang), prima facie, established the fact that the murder was not based on his Whatsapp message.

The NIA is expected to file its reply on February 18.

Pawar said the MVA won all seats, except one (Konkan), in the recently concluded Maharashtra Legislative Council polls and reiterated that everything was fine with the alliance.

“Kasba is the constituency with the lowest number of voters. We have thoughtfully nominated Ravindra Dhangekar. Till now, multiple people were contesting from this constituency, which helped BJP to win.

But, now we are fighting unitedly as MVA,” Pawar said.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Union minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Monday defended the appointment of retired Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer as the governor of Andhra Pradesh, saying a qualified person can be given any post and his ability should not be questioned.

The Congress had attacked the government over the appointment of Nazeer, who was part of the historic 2019 Ayodhya verdict, and called the move a “great threat” to the independence of the judiciary.

Responding to a query on the appointment of Nazeer, Thakur, who holds Sports, and Information & Broadcasting portfolios, said, “Any ‘kabil’ (qualified) person can be given any post. That person’s ability should not be questioned”.

Thakur didn’t respond to queries on the Hindenburg Research report which had alleged stock manipulation by Adani Group, a charge denied by the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate.

Nazeer, who retired on January 4, was part of several path-breaking verdicts, including those on the politically sensitive Ayodhya land dispute, instant ‘triple talaq’ and the one that held the right to privacy to be a fundamental right.