Cleric Arrested For Plotting To Kill Right-Wing Leader, Threatening Nupur Sharma & BJP MLA

Surat: A 27-year-old man was arrested in Surat over an alleged plot to kill BJP leaders, chief editor of a television channel and leader of a right-wing organisation.

Identified as Maulvi Abubakr Timol, the Muslim cleric and his handlers from Pakistan and Nepal have been accused of hatching a conspiracy to kill Sanatan Sangh national chairman Updesh Rana, and also threatening Sudarshan TV channel’s chief editor Suresh Chauhan, BJP’s Telangana MLA Raja Singh and the party’s former spokesperson Nupur Sharma, senior police official Anupam Singh Gehlot informed.

Abubakr, who used to work as manager of a thread factory also held tuition classes on Islam, made 15 calls to Rana and threatened to kill him like Kamlesh Tiwari, the UP-based president of Hindu Samaj Party who was murdered in 2019 in Lucknow.

The cleric, a native of Nandurbar in Maharashtra, was arrested on Friday from Bharimata Road near Phoolwadi creek in Surat.

Police launched an investigation after receiving information about a man who was connecting people on a WhatsApp group and posting content to hurt religious sentiment and instigate communal violence during election.

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

“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 said.

“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,” the police official informed.

The accused was in contact with people on Whatsapp who had numbers with codes of countries like Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos.