Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 11: In a significant development in the 2019 Thanjavur murder case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended two long-standing absconding accused and three individuals who allegedly aided them, the agency announced on Thursday.

Ramalingam was brutally hacked to death on February 5, 2019, in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, reportedly by members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). Mohamed Burhanudeen and Mohamed Nabil Hasan, natives of Thanjavur and on the run for nearly seven years, were taken into custody from Pallikonda in Vellore district following intelligence inputs from sister agencies. According to the NIA, the duo had conspired with others to murder Ramalingam, including chopping his hands.

In a related move, the NIA also arrested three more individuals—K. Mohideen, Mohamed Imran, and Thameem Ansari—from Chennai district, who were found to have helped conceal and move the absconding accused after the murder.

The NIA took over the investigation from Thiruvidaimaruthur police on March 7, 2019, and filed a charge sheet in August 2019. Six accused were declared proclaimed offenders, with a reward of Rs. 5 lakh each announced for their capture. As of December 1, five of the six POs have been arrested, while one, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, remains at large.

Earlier in August, the agency conducted searches at nine locations across Tamil Nadu and arrested Imthathullah, proprietor of Ambur Biryani Hotels in Kodaikanal, from Dindigul district for allegedly harbouring absconding POs since 2021. Digital devices and incriminating documents were seized during the searches in Dindigul and Tenkasi districts.

The NIA stated that the investigation in case RC-06/2019/NIA/DLI is ongoing.