New Delhi, Dec 11 (HS): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two key accused—Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mohammed Nabeel Hasan—who had been absconding for seven years in the high-profile 2019 Ramalingam murder case. The arrests were made in Pali Kondha, Vellore district of Tamil Nadu.

The agency also detained three of their associates — K. Mohideen, Mohammed Imran, and Thameem Ansari — for allegedly sheltering the accused after the murder.

According to the NIA, the two main accused were linked to the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and had conspired with others to kill Ramalingam. Acting on specific inputs, the agency carried out the operation and apprehended the fugitives.

The NIA had taken over the investigation from the local police in March 2019 and filed the chargesheet in August the same year. Six accused were declared absconders, and a reward of ₹5 lakh each was announced for information leading to their arrest. So far, five of the absconding accused have been arrested, while one — Mohammed Ali Jinnah — remains at large.

Ramalingam was brutally murdered on February 5, 2019, in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, allegedly by PFI members.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar