Two proclaimed offenders among 5 held by NIA in 2019 Ramalingam murder case

New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) The NIA has arrested five people, including two proclaimed offenders, in connection with the killing of PMK worker Ramalingam in 2019 for opposing forced conversions in Tamil Nadu, the agency said on Thursday.

The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) worker was brutally killed on February 5, 2019 in Paku Vinayakam Thoppu, Thanjavur, allegedly by members and office-bearers of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), which conspired the attack.

In a statement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the proclaimed offenders, Mohamed Burhanudeen and Mohamed Nabil Hasan, were on the run for nearly seven years.

Both are residents of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu and were arrested from Pallikonda in Vellore district "on the basis of inputs received by NIA from sister agencies," the statement said.   The NIA alleged that the duo "conspired and coordinated with several others to murder Ramalingam by chopping his hands".

Following the arrest of Burhanudeen and Hasan, the NIA also apprehended three more people who harboured them.

"Hailing from Chennai district, K Mohideen, Mohamed Imran and Thameem Ansari were found to have facilitated the concealment and movement of the absconders after the murder," the federal agency said.

The NIA took over the case from Tamil Nadu Police on March 7, 2019 and filed a chargesheet in August 2019.

Six of the accused were subsequently declared proclaimed offenders, and a reward of Rs 5 lakh each was announced for their arrest. So far, five of them have been arrested, while one Mohammad Ali Jinnah continues to be at large.

According to NIA investigations, the violence was “instigated” to instil fear among the opponents of the outfit to drive a wedge between the communities by inciting communal hatred.

The PFI was declared an unlawful association under the UAPA by the central government on September 28, 2022. PTI MHS SKL KVK KVK