Kochi: In a major setback for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Kerala High Court here on Tuesday granted bail to 17 people booked in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan in Palakkad with strict conditions. As per the conditions imposed by the court, the accused have been directed to hand over the details of their mobile phones to the probe team.
Apart from furnishing mobile phone details to the probe team, the division bench asked the accused to use only a single mobile number and keep the GPS tracker of their phone always on for tracing their location. They were also asked to surrender their passport before the trial court.
Though 17 obtained bail, a bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syamkumar VM rejected the bail plea of nine accused including PFI leaders Karamana Ashraf Mowlavi, Yahiya Koya Thangal, Abdul Rouf and Abdul Sathar. Only those who are not directly involved in the murder received the bail, reported Manorama News. The 17 accused on bail were nabbed based on witness' statements. Prima facie, the probe team did not confirm the direct involvement of these accused in the crime.
NIA took over the probe from the Kerala police as it was one of the crimes that led to the nationwide ban on the Popular Front of India. On March 17, 2023, the NIA filed a charge-sheet against 59 people in the case. Subsequently, on May 16, the NIA's absconder tracking team apprehending Saheer KV, who had been absconding for long. So far, 69 individuals have been identified as being involved in the conspiracy.
Sreenivasan's murder was in retaliation for the killing of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activist Subair. A day before Sreenivasan's murder, Subair was hacked to death allegedly by RSS workers at Elappully in Palakkad.
Sreenivasan's body had 10 deep wounds, including three cuts on his head, the inquest report states. Besides, there were multiple wounds on his hands and legs.
