KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that Dr Dinesh D, a Coimbatore-based dentist, is a hard-core terrorist who underwent training in sophisticated weapons, including automatic rifles, to further the activities of the banned terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist) as part of a larger conspiracy to wage war against the nation.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had arrested him in 2021 from a clinic at Edayarpalayam, Coimbatore, where he was working as a dentist.
The NIA stated that Dr Dinesh, the fourth accused, and the other accused persons had voluntarily convened a meeting and training camp in September 2016 in the reserve forest of Karulai in Malappuram district.
During the camp, they handled arms, including automatic rifles, the central agency said while opposing the accused’s bail plea before the Special Court for NIA cases in Kochi. Considering the gravity of the offence, the court recently dismissed the bail plea.
Challenging the decision, the accused has approached the Kerala High Court, where the matter is pending consideration.
According to the bail order, the Kerala Police and ATS Kerala had arraigned 25 accused in the case. Of these, eight have died in different incidents and four remain absconding.
The ATS filed a chargesheet against five accused before the District and Sessions Court, Manjeri, on May 18, 2021. On August 19, 2021, the Union government directed the NIA to take over the investigation and the case was re-registered.
The NIA investigation revealed that the accused persons numbered 1 to 28 had conspired with the proscribed organisation and conducted or attended training camps at various places in India to further its activities.
The accused’s counsel submitted before the Special Court that he has been in detention for more than four years and four months in connection with the case.
Given the large number of documents, material objects, and witnesses, the trial is unlikely to be completed in the near future. It was argued that such prolonged custody violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Opposing this, NIA’s prosecutor stated that evidence collected — including witness statements, digital and scientific evidence, and material objects — clearly establishes the accused’s role in conspiracies, arms training camps, and other anti-national activities furthering the objectives of CPI (Maoist).
The evidence on record, the prosecutor argued, established a strong prima facie case that the petitioner is a hard-core terrorist.
Considering the arguments of both the NIA and the petitioner, the Special Court held that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against the accused are prima facie true.
“The allegations against the accused are serious in nature. The case is ripe for trial,” the court observed.
NIA's arguments
Dr Dinesh, the fourth accused, and the other accused persons had voluntarily convened a meeting and training camp in September 2016 in the reserve forest of Karulai in Malappuram district
During the camp, they handled arms, including automatic rifles
Kerala Police and ATS Kerala had arraigned 25 accused in the case. Of these, eight have died in different incidents and four remain absconding