Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Sep 25: A Special Court for NIA cases in Poonamallee, Chennai, on Thursday sentenced four active cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to life imprisonment for the murder of C. Sasikumar, spokesperson of Hindu Munnani in Coimbatore.
The convicted accused — Sadam Hussain, Subair, Mubarak and Mohammad Rafiqul Hassan — were each sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 30,000, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a statement.
The verdict marks the NIA's first conviction involving PFI operatives since the organisation was officially banned by the Government of India.
Sasikumar was hacked to death in Coimbatore on September 22, 2016. According to the NIA, the targeted killing was carried out with the intention of spreading terror among a section of society and triggering communal disturbances in the region.
The murder led to widespread violence across six districts, including Coimbatore City and Coimbatore Rural, following which state authorities registered more than 300 FIRs.
The case was initially registered at Thudiyalur Police Station in Coimbatore and was subsequently investigated by the CB-CID, Tamil Nadu.
Following an order of the Central government, the case was handed over to the NIA and re-registered as RC-03/2018/NIA/DLI on January 22, 2018.
During the investigation, the NIA established that the accused were active members of PFI and had entered into a criminal conspiracy to carry out the targeted killing.
After a detailed investigation, the agency filed a charge sheet along with two supplementary charge sheets against five accused.
The trial began in 2019. During the proceedings, the court examined 75 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses.
The trial culminated in the conviction of four accused under Sections 302, 120-B and 153-A of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Special Court, however, acquitted one co-accused, identified as Abu alias Syed Abuthagir.
The NIA said it is currently examining the judgment and exploring all available legal options to challenge the acquittal before the appellate court.