TIRUCHY: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday conducted searches in at least eight districts of the state in connection with the murder of a PMK functionary at Thirubuvanam in Thanjavur in 2019 after he allegedly voiced out against forced conversion attempts, which were also purportedly recorded and widely circulated online.
Members of the PFI are suspected to have conspired with the attack on V Ramalingam on the night of February 5, 2019. Accordingly, the searches on Sunday targeted the residences of people allegedly linked to the banned outfit, including that of SDPI state president Nellai Mubarak in Tirunelveli district.
According to sources, a six-member team led by Superintendent of Police Sundaravalli conducted the search at Mubarak’s house in Melapalayam that lasted from 5.50 am to 10 am. A mobile phone and a letter were seized by the sleuths, sources added. The city police tightened security in the vicinity when the search was held.
In Coimbatore, searches were held at the residence of MY Abbas at HMPR Street, Kottaimedu, since 6 am. He was former area in-charge of Kurichi and Athupalam in the city for the PFI. Several digital devices, including SIM and memory cards, and documents were seized. A total of `90,000 in cash was also part of the seizure, sources said. Furher, he was summoned to the NIA office on PRS campus.
Later in the evening, the SDPI staged a protest at Ukkadam condemning the searches. In Tiruppur district, the residence of ex-PFI functionary Mubarak Basha near Velampalayam was searched. The search which started at 5 am lasted for around three hours.
In Tiruchy, a team led by inspector Ranjith Singh held the search at the rented residence of Afsal Khan, a suspected PFI worker, in Bhima Nagar that lasted till around 11 am. A mobile phone was seized, sources said. In Pudukkottai town, a three-member NIA team led the search at the residence of Rashid Mohammed, who was a PFI organiser, at Usilangulam that lasted from 5.15 am to 10.30 am. The search led to the seizure of a few documents.
While searches were held at 10 places in Thanjavur, four NIA officials held a search at the house of Nizar Ahmed (44) at Therazendhur in Mayiladuthurai district. After a five-hour interrogation, electronic items such as hard disks, pen drives and mobile phones were seized from his house for analysis. In Madurai, searches were held at the residence of Abdul Rasak in S Keelpatti of Peraiyur and Jahir Hussain of Usilampatti in connection with the case.
(With inputs from Tirunelveli, Pudukkottai, Coimbatore, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai and Tiruppur bureaux, and PTI)