The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday raided the homes of five absconding proclaimed offenders (POs) and suspects across 21 locations in Tamil Nadu in the PFI conspiracy case relating to the brutal assassination of Ramalingam for protesting against forcible conversions by the banned outfit.
“The state-wide raids in the Ramalingam Murder PFI conspiracy case were conducted on the residential premises of several functionaries of the Popular Front of India (PFI), including Nellai Mubarak, who is also the State President of the SDPI,” the NIA release said. Others whose houses were raided included absconding accused Mohammed Ali Jinna, Abdul Majith, Bhurkhanudeen, Shahul Hameed, and Nafeel Hassan, it stated.
The NIA has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh each to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of any of the five absconders. The prosecution of others already arrested in the case is currently under way. Earlier, the NIA had filed a chargesheet against 18 accused persons, including the five absconding accused persons, on August 2, 2019, before the NIA Special Court, Chennai. The NIA Special Court, Chennai, had declared these five absconding accused persons as proclaimed Offenders.
“Today’s raids in the districts of Thanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tirupur, Villupuram, Trichy, Pudukottai, Coimbatore, and Mayiladuthurai led to the seizure of several digital devices (mobile phones, SIM cards, and memory cards) and documents, the NIA stated. Ramalingam was brutally murdered on February 5, 2019 in Paku Vinayakam Thoppu, Thanjavur, by members and office bearers of the PFI, which had conspired the assassination.
