2019 Ramalingam murder case: NIA searches nine locations in Tamil Nadu; arrests another accused

CHENNAI: A day after carrying out searches in Tamil Nadu in connection with the 2019 Ramalingam murder case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested Imthathullah, proprietor of Ambur Biryani Hotel in Kodaikanal, on charges of harbouring three proclaimed offenders (POs).According to the agency, Imthathullah knowingly sheltered the absconding accused at his hotel outlets from 2021 onwards. On Wednesday, the NIA searched nine locations across Dindigul and Tenkasi districts, seizing incriminating documents and digital devices.Of the three POs he allegedly harboured, Abdul Majeed and Shahul Hameed were arrested in January this year, while the third, Mohammed Ali Jinna, remains absconding. The NIA has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to Jinna’s arrest, as well as for two other absconding accused — Burhanudeen and Nafeel Hasan, both from Thanjavur and said to be former functionaries of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).The case relates to the brutal killing of Ramalingam in 2019, which investigators said was intended to spread fear and communal hatred. The NIA took over the probe from Tamil Nadu Police in March 2019 and chargesheeted 18 persons later that year before the Special Court in Poonamallee, Chennai. Six of them went absconding, of whom four have since been arrested.