A resident of Malappuram district, Shafeekh, was part of the PFI machinery and hit squads that had carried out Srinivasan’s murder, the agency said.
NIA. (Wikimedia)
In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday, 18 March, apprehended a key absconding member of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the brutal murder of RSS leader Srinivasan in Kerala back in 2022.
Shafeekh, who had remained at large since the targeted killing of Srinivasan in Palakkad on 16 April 2022, was tracked and arrested by the NIA Absconder Tracking Team in Kollam district.
He was taken into custody by the anti-terror agency for his involvement in the case. The investigation has unveiled a broader conspiracy involving a total of 71 individuals, NIA said in a press release.
The NIA had previously filed two chargesheets, on 17 March, 2023, and 6 November, 2023, identifying several suspects.
One of the accused, identified as Abdul Naser, passed away on 2 January, 2023, while two others, Saheer KV and Jaffar Bheemantavida, were arrested on 19 October 2023 and 12 February 2024 respectively.
A resident of Malappuram district, Shafeekh, was part of the PFI machinery and hit squads that had carried out Srinivasan’s murder, the agency said in the release.
As per NIA investigations, he had harboured Ashraf KP, who, under directions from the PFI leadership, orchestrated the conspiracy alongside other leaders and cadres of the organisation.
Ashraf had also conducted recce of various potential targets for elimination.
(Compiled and edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)
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