The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Tuesday added charges under Unlawful Activity (prevention) Act (UAPA), an anti-terrorism law, against five suspects including two maulvis (Muslim priests) arrested for allegedly murdering a 30-year-old youth in Ahmedabad district village for an offensive Facebook post.
ATS officials said that section of UAPA was added to the first information report (FIR) since the suspects have been allegedly found to have plotted to "instill terror" among people. Earlier on January 25, police had registered FIR was registered under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) to be read with 120B (conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code and sections of arms act.
"The investigation has found that the suspects wanted to create an atmosphere of fear and instill terror among people. Apart from killing, they had tried to target a person in Porbandar. We are trying to find if there were other people under their target," Deputy Inspector of Police, ATS, Deepan Bhadran told DH.
30-year-old Kishan Boliya alias Bharwad was shot dead in Dhandhuka taluka of Ahmedabad district by two bike-borne men while he was traveling on a motorcycle with his brother. Later, the assailants were identified as Shabbir Chopda, 25 and his friend Imtiaz Pathan, 27, both residents of Dhandhuka. Ahmedabad district police investigation claimed that Boliya was killed for his offensive Facebook post. Later, police arrested maulana Ayub Javarawala, 51, a resident of Jamalpur in Ahmedabad for allegedly providing weapons and radicalising Shabbir.
As various Hindu outfits started staging protests demanding "quick justice" to Boliya's family and investigation suggested a "larger conspiracy", the state government transferred the case to ATS. After taking over the case, the ATS officials arrested a New Delhi-based maulvi Qamar Gani Usmani, 40 and Rajkot resident Azeem Sama, 38.
Police suspect that the accused are part of a "network" which had planned to target individuals involved in blasphemy or comments made against Islam and the Prophet.
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