Absconding Popular Front member arrested in Kerala RSS leader murder case

Mangalore Today News Network

Kollam, Mar 19, 2024: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a key absconding member of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) for the 2022 murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Srinivasan in Kerala, officials said on Tuesday.

 

The accused, Shafeekh, who allegedly had an active role in the targeted killing of Srinivasan, had been absconding since the crime in April 2022. He was taken into custody on Monday from the Kollam district of Kerala.

According to the probe agency, Shafeekh, who is from Malappuram, was part of the PFI machinery and its hit squads that carried out the killing.

The investigations revealed that he had harboured another accused, Ashraf KP, who, under directions from the PFI leadership, had conspired with other leaders and cadres of the organisation to execute the conspiracy. Ashraf had also conducted a recce of various potential targets for elimination.

Srinivasan was killed by a gang on April 16, 2022, in Kerala’s Palakkad district.

A total of 71 persons were identified as being part of the murder and the NIA had filed two chargesheets in March and November 2023, respectively.

One of the accused, identified as Abdul Naser, had died in January 2023, while two absconders, Saheer KV and Jaffar Bheemantavida, were arrested respectively in October 2023 and February 2024.

Courtesy: India Today