High Court of Kerala.
The Kerala High Court (High Court) on Friday rejected the bail plea of seven PFI members accused of murdering RSS leader Srinivasan in 2022 in Palakkad district of the state. The accused are also facing trial for allegedly inciting communal violence in the state and other parts of the country.
The High Court said that according to records, one of the seven accused arranged for the motorcycle used by the attackers to look for Srinivasan and conduct reconnaissance to commit the terror act. The court also said records show that two of the seven defendants received Reiki treatments on April 15, 2022.
Accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad
In addition to this, a number of documents, notices, magazines and other items seized from the house of another accused also included a controversial test paper related to the “hand-cutting case”. The “hand-cutting case” is related to an incident in Idukki district in 2010, where Professor TJ Joseph had his hands chopped off after he was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in an internal examination paper.
The accused is not entitled to bail
In view of this, the High Court ruled that the seven defendants were not entitled to bail. The decision was taken following a petition filed by the accused before a special NIA court rejecting bail.
51 people were charged
Initially, 51 people were named as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One of the arrested suspects died and seven others are still at large. The chargesheet of the remaining accused has been filed in two phases, July and December 2022. While investigating the murder, the Center received intelligence that officials and members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates in Kerala were conspiring to radicalize its cadres, incite communal violence and incite violence in Kerala state to carry out terrorist activities. .
NIA starts investigation
In September 2022, the Center directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation into the accused’s case. On September 28, 2022, the Center declared PFI a banned organization. The NIA filed the chargesheet in 2023, following which the accused moved a bail plea before the special court. In June this year, the court granted bail to 17 defendants in the same case, but refused relief to nine other defendants.
RSS leader murdered
Less than 24 hours after PFI leader Subair was allegedly murdered by a BJP worker in a nearby village, former RSS district leader and officer SK Srinivasan was attacked by a gang of six at his motorcycle shop in Melamuri, Palakkad .
