The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday raided the homes of five absconding proclaimed offenders (POs) and suspects across 21 locations in Tamil Nadu in the PFI conspiracy case relating to the brutal assassination of Ramalingam for protesting against forcible conversions by the banned outfit.

“The state-wide raids in the Ramalingam Murder PFI conspiracy case were conducted on the residential premises of several functionaries of the Popular Front of India (PFI), including Nellai Mubarak, who is also the State President of the SDPI,” the NIA release said. Ramalingam, who had opposed the Dawah work of leaders of Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly involved in converting Hindus into Islam, was murdered in 2019.

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Others whose houses were raided included absconding accused Mohammed Ali Jinna, Abdul Majith, Bhurkhanudeen, Shahul Hameed and Nafeel Hassan, it stated.

NIA has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakhs each to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of any of the five absconders. The prosecution of others already arrested in the case is currently under way.

Earlier, the NIA had filed a chargesheet against 18 accused persons, including the five absconding accused persons, on August 2, 2019, before the NIA Special Court, Chennai.

The NIA Special Court, Chennai, had declared these five absconding accused persons as Proclaimed Offenders.

“Today’s raids, in the districts of Thanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tirupur, Villupuram, Trichy, Pudukottai, Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai, led to the seizure of several digital devices (mobile phones, SIM cards and memory cards) and documents,” NIA stated

Ramalingam was brutally murdered on February 5, 2019 in Paku Vinayakam Thoppu, Thanjavur by members and office bearers of the PFI, which had conspired the assassination.

The accused persons had avenged Ramalingam by killing him in an extremely violent jihadi manner as he objected to the forcible conversion of underprivileged persons by Dawah Team / Proselytization team dispatched from Arivagam, Theni (now attached as proceeds of terrorism under section 25 of UA(P) Act, 1967).

According to NIA investigations, the violence was instigated to instil fear among the opponents of the outfit, declared as an ‘unlawful association’ under UAPA bythe Government of India on 28th September 2022, and to drive a wedge between the communities by inciting communal hatred and violence.