Gujarat: Surat Maulvi held for allegedly plotting to kill suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma

A 27-year-old cleric was arrested in Surat, Gujarat on May 3, over an alleged plot to kill BJP leaders and a leader of a right-wing organisation, in connivance with handlers from Pakistan and Nepal.

Surat senior police official, Anupam Singh Gehlot said that the accused, Maulvi Sohel Abubakr Timol, threatened the chief editor of Hindi TV news channel, BJP's Telangana MLA Raja Singh and the party's former spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Timol who worked at a thread factory as a manager, also tutored Muslim children.

Police personnel launched an investigation after receiving information that a man was connecting people on a WhatsApp group, and posting content to hurt religious sentiment thereby instigating communal violence during the elections.

Gehlot said, “Timol's mobile chats revealed he was conspiring with people from Pakistan and Nepal to offer Rs 1 crore 'supari' (contract for killing) and procure weapons from Pakistan to kill his first target, national president of Hindu Sanatan Sangh Upadesh Rana.”

"After his detention, we found several objectionable contents in his mobile phones, including the one regarding offering Rs 1 crore for the murder of Updesh Rana. For this, he was continuously in touch with persons/numbers from Pakistan and Nepal," Gehlot further added.

"Photos and other details found on his phone number show they (accused and associates) were discussing on a secure app about targeting and threatening editor-in-chief of a Hindi TV news channel, Suresh Chavhanke, political leader Nupur Sharma, and Hyderabad MLA Raja Singh. For this purpose, they were planning to collect funds and procure weapons," Gehlot said, adding that Surat police is taking the help of other agencies to find out if they had more targets in mind.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Timol was in contact with two people identified as Dogar and Shehnaz having phone numbers belonging to Pakistan and Nepal, respectively.

About eighteen months ago, the pair reached out to the defendant via social media. During conversations on the messaging app, Timol penned anti-Hindu speeches and warned Rana of a fate similar to Kamlesh Tiwari's murder, as per police statements. Additionally, a member of their chat group allegedly offered one crore rupees to anyone willing to assassinate Rana, along with sharing his photo.