Surat Cleric Nabbed for Alleged Plot to Assassinate BJP MLA Nupur Sharma, Say Police

On Friday, a 27-year-old man named Maulvi Sohel Abubakr Timol was arrested in Gujarat’s Surat. He was taken into custody over suspicions of planning to assassinate leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a leader of a right-wing organization.

According to Anupam Singh Gehlot, a senior police official in Surat, Timol was allegedly involved in threatening the chief editor of a Hindi TV news channel, as well as BJP’s Telangana MLA Raja Singh and the party’s former spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Gehlot stated that Timol collaborated with handlers from Pakistan and Nepal in these activities.

Timol, who worked as a manager at a thread factory, also provided private tuition on Islam to Muslim children, as per Gehlot.

The arrest came following police receiving information about a man connecting people on a WhatsApp group and sharing content aimed at inciting communal violence during elections. This prompted an investigation into Timol’s activities.

Gehlot revealed that Timol’s mobile chats indicated a conspiracy involving individuals from Pakistan and Nepal.

The plan allegedly included offering a contract of Rs 1 crore for the murder of Upadesh Rana, the national president of Hindu Sanatan Sangh, and procuring weapons from Pakistan for the same purpose.

Further scrutiny of Timol’s phone uncovered objectionable content, including discussions about targeting and threatening Suresh Chavhanke, the editor-in-chief of a Hindi TV news channel, along with political figure Nupur Sharma and Hyderabad MLA Raja Singh.

Gehlot added that they were planning to gather funds and acquire weapons for this purpose.

It was revealed during preliminary investigations that Timol had been in contact with two individuals identified as Dogar and Shehnaz, whose phone numbers were traced to Pakistan and Nepal, respectively. These contacts allegedly incited Timol by claiming that Hindu organizations in Bharat had insulted Prophet Muhammad, urging him to take action.

Timol reportedly used a chat app to write speeches against Hinduism and threatened Upadesh Rana, likening his fate to that of Kamlesh Tiwari, who was murdered in Lucknow in 2019.

Police discovered that a member of Timol’s chat group had even sent a photo of Rana with a Rs 1 crore offer for his assassination.

The investigation also revealed Timol’s communication with individuals from various countries, including Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Laos, through WhatsApp numbers with different country codes.

Authorities are now collaborating with other agencies to determine if there were more targets in Timol’s plans.