Prophet Row: Man Flees Nagpur After Threats Over Post Supporting Nupur Sharma

After some people reached Mihir's residence to threaten him, he left Nagpur with his family.

Nupur Sharma's comments have created a row.

Photo Credit: The Quint

A 22-year-old man in Nagpur's Wardhaman Nagar reportedly received threat calls after he put out a post supporting suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Instagram on 14 June.

On 17 June, after some people reached his residence to threaten him, he left Nagpur with his family.

This comes on the heels of Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe's murder in Udaipur and Amravati over posts supporting Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

According to Nagpur police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, the police is taking full responsibility of the family's security and is looking into the incident.

What Had Happened?

Mihir Mashroom uploaded the post on 14 June following which he allegedly started getting the calls. Although he deleted the posts soon after, the threats persisted.

The police registered his complaint as a non-cognizable report (NCR) on 15 June. After people from 'another community' threatened him at his residence on 17 June, he left Nagpur along with his parents and elder brother.

Meanwhile, as posts with Mihir's photos and threats went viral on social media, Nagpur police immediately ramped up security in the area.

While his father and elder brother have returned to Nagpur, Mihir and his mother have not.

The family, which runs a chilli business, has said that the incident has had them rattled.

14 People Threatened in Amravati, One Murdered

The Amravati murder took place on 21 June around 10 pm, when Kolhe had closed his shop, Amit Medical Store, located in Rachana Shree Mall near the Amravati Tehsil office.

Umesh Kolhe, who was one among the 14 people threatened over their social media posts in Amravati, was murdered on his way home.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the custody of all the seven accused in the murder on Tuesday, 5 July. While the seven have been sent to a four-day-transit-remand, they will be presented before a Mumbai court on 8 July. The eighth accused in the case is on the run.

In one of the instances of threatening in Amravati, The Quint accessed recordings of the phone threats to the owner of Jai Mobile Shop, in which at least three different people are threatening him and he is apologising to them. No arrests have been made in connection with the recordings so far.

Two More Arrested in Udaipur Tailor Murder

Meanwhile, the two persons accused of the murder of Udaipur-based-tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli – Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari – were sent to 14-day judicial custody on 30 June.

Kanhaiya Lal was killed in Udaipur for allegedly supporting Nupur Sharma's remarks.

Further, two more persons, identified as Mohsin and Asif, were arrested on the charge of conspiracy in connection with Lal's murder on Friday, 1 July.

After the incident occurred, the two persons acussed of the murder, had released a video of the brutal act on 28 June and issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(With inputs from Nitesh Raut and Dilip Kamble.)