NIA nabs last absconder in 2019 Ramalingam murder case
The arrested proclaimed offender, Mohammed Ali Jinnah from Thanjavur district, is a former district president of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). He had been evading arrest since Ramalingam was hacked to death in Thanjavur on February 5, 2019.
National Investigation Agency
CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested the last of six absconding proclaimed offenders in the 2019 murder case of Ramalingam in Tamil Nadu. The agency also apprehended one additional individual accused of harbouring the fugitives.
The arrested proclaimed offender, Mohammed Ali Jinnah from Thanjavur district, is a former district president of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). He had been evading arrest since Ramalingam was hacked to death in Thanjavur on February 5, 2019. The NIA had declared him a proclaimed offender and announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to his capture.
According to the NIA, investigations revealed Jinnah's key role in "conspiring, supervising and coordinating with other accused in the killing." His arrest was made possible based on critical information provided by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unit of the Tamil Nadu Police.
In the same operation, the agency arrested a man identified as Asmath, who is accused of sheltering the proclaimed offenders for several years.
This development comes just five days after the NIA arrested two other absconding proclaimed offenders and three harbourers in the same case.
The NIA took over the investigation from the Thiruvidaimaruthur police on March 7, 2019, and filed a chargesheet in August 2019. The agency stated that its probe into the larger conspiracy behind the murder is ongoing. The case is allegedly linked to members of the banned PFI.