Mumbai Court grants 90 days to NIA to file chargesheet in Amravati chemist murder case

A Mumbai court on Tuesday granted 90 days extension to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to complete its investigation and file chargesheet in the case involving the murder of an Amravati-based chemist..The chemist, Umesh Kolhe, was allegedly murdered for supporting a social media post in favour of former BJP member Nupur Sharma’s prophet remark.Kolhe was killed on June 21. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from Maharashtra was initially investigating the case. Thereafter, the case was transferred to NIA which arrested 10 persons and arraigned 4 as absconding accused.The case was registered under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Under the Act, the agency could file chargesheet within 90 days, which can be extended for another 90 days.The last day for filing chargesheet against the first set of arrested accused was Tuesday. .The NIA sought more time to file chargesheet in the interest of investigation. The agency claimed that there would be a high element of risk involved if extension is not granted for filing of chargesheet.“The accused persons and others will slip out of the clutches of law and justice including the law enforcement agencies of state and centre due to this fact that the present case is having repercussion on the territorial integrity, sovereignty and security of India, therefore it is highly necessary to grant further extension of time for completion of investigation,” stated the NIA application.Counsel for the accused opposed extension by pointing out that the agency was blaming the accused claiming they have misled the investigators and using it as an excuse to get extension.The Court after hearing the parties granted the NIA's request for extension of time.