The Kerala Excessive Courtroom on Friday rejected the bail pleas of seven PFI members, accused within the 2022 homicide of RSS chief Srinivasan within the state’s Palakkad district.
The accused are additionally going through trial for allegedly inciting communal violence within the state and different components of the nation.
A bench of justices A Okay Jayasankaran Nambiar and Okay V Jayakumar stated that on cautious consideration of the supplies on report, it was of the view that the prosecution has succeeded in displaying the allegations in opposition to the seven accused “are prima facie true”.
The Excessive Courtroom famous that, in line with the data, one of many seven accused had organized the bike utilized by the assailants “to conduct a recce for finding the goal (Srinivasan) and finishing up the terrorist act.” The courtroom additionally famous that the data indicated two of the seven accused had carried out a recce of the goal on April 15, 2022.
Moreover, a number of paperwork, notices, magazines, and different objects seized from the home of one other accused included the controversial query paper linked to the “hand chopping case.” The “hand chopping case” refers back to the 2010 incident in Idukki district, the place Professor T J Joseph’s palm was chopped off after he was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed in a query paper for an inner examination.
In gentle of those components, the HC dominated the seven accused “should not entitled to be launched on bail.” The choice adopted the accused particular person’s plea difficult the NIA particular courtroom’s refusal to grant them bail. Initially, 51 individuals have been named as accused in reference to the homicide of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One of many arrested suspects died, and 7 others stay absconding.
Chargesheets for the remaining accused have been filed in two phases, in July and December 2022.
In the course of the investigation into the homicide, the Centre obtained intelligence suggesting that office-bearers and members of the Standard Entrance of India (PFI) and its associates in Kerala had conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise their cadre to hold out terrorist acts in Kerala and different components of the nation, the excessive courtroom stated.
In September 2022, the Centre directed the Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA) to take over the investigation of the case in opposition to the accused. On September 28, 2022, the Centre declared the Standard Entrance of India (PFI) a banned organisation.
The NIA filed its chargesheets in 2023, after which the accused filed their bail pleas earlier than the particular courtroom. In June this yr, the courtroom granted bail to 17 of the accused in the identical case however denied reduction to 9 others.
S Okay Srinivasan, a former district chief and office-bearer of the RSS, was attacked by a six-member gang at his motorcycle store in Melamuri, Palakkad, lower than 24 hours after a PFI chief, Subair, was allegedly killed by BJP staff in a close-by village.
