The Special Court for NIA cases, Poonamallee, Chennai, on Thursday convicted and sentenced four active cadres of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of C. Sasikumar, spokesperson of Hindu Munnani, Coimbatore.
The case was initially registered at Thudiyalur Police Station, Coimbatore, and was later investigated by CB-CID, Tamil Nadu.
Investigation established that the accused, being active members of PFI, entered into a criminal conspiracy and executed the targeted killing. The Special Court acquitted one co-accused, identified as Abu alias Syed Abuthagir. NIA is currently reviewing the judgment and exploring all available legal avenues to challenge the acquittal in the appellate court.
After meticulous investigation, NIA filed a charge sheet and 2 supplementary charge sheets against 5 accused persons. The trial commenced in 2019, during which 75 prosecution witnesses and 2 defence witnesses were examined. The trial has now culminated in the conviction of 4 accused for offences under sections 302, 120-B and 153-A of the IPC, and sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
