After four years on run, PFI leader remanded in RSS activist murder case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has secured the remand of a senior leader of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the 2022 murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Sreenivasan in Palakkad, Kerala. Muhammadali K.P., the PFI Palakkad district president, was produced before a special court in Kochi on Thursday evening and remanded to 15 days of judicial custody.

Mr. Muhammadali was arrested earlier in the day at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi upon his arrival from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the NIA said he had been hiding for the past four years. The agency had declared a reward of ₹3 lakh for information leading to his capture and had also obtained an Interpol Red Notice against him.

The case dates back to April 16, 2022, when Sreenivasan was allegedly killed by PFI cadres. The Palakkad Town South police initially investigated the murder, but the case was later transferred to the NIA on the direction of the Union government. According to the NIA, the murder was part of a larger conspiracy by the PFI to create communal divide through violent extremism. The agency has so far arrested 67 accused, with 65 chargesheeted, including Mr. Muhammadali.

Mr. Muhammadali faces charges under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA alleges that he was involved in the conspiracy to commit the murder and that he harboured the killers after the crime. The investigation remains ongoing.

The NIA has stated that the RSS activist was killed in pursuance of the proscribed outfit’s conspiracy to “unleash terror with the nefarious agenda of establishing Islamic Rule in India by 2047,” and that the accused had conspired to create a communal divide through jihad. These claims, however, remain allegations until proven in court.