NEW DELHI, May 17 (PTI): A member of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), who was wanted in connection with the murder of an RSS leader in 2022, was arrested from Kerala, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Wednesday.
Saheer K V was carrying a reward of Rs 4 lakh and was absconding since the murder of RSS leader Srinvasan on April 16, 2022 in Palakkad district of Kerala, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.
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Terming his arrest as a “major breakthrough”, the official said an NIA fugitive tracking team (FTT) traced him to a relative’s house in Palakkad and arrested him.
“Also a resident of Palakkad, Saheer was part of the PFI assault and protection team that had carried out the targeted killing. He was also responsible for providing protection to the main assailants of Srinivasan,” the spokesperson said.
The official said the NIA investigations showed that the accused, who was PFI’s Pattambi area president, was involved in various conspiracies of the PFI leaders to eliminate Srinivasan, as part of the banned outfit’s bigger scheme to create terror among members of a particular community and to establish Islamic rule in India by 2047.
On March 17, the NIA had filed a charge sheet against 59 accused, including the PFI as an organisation, in the murder case even as investigations are still continuing.
One of these accused, identified as Abdul Naser, had died on January 2, while efforts are on to track and trace the remaining 11 absconding accused, out of the total of 69 identified as involved in the conspiracy so far, the spokesperson said.
