Sasikumar murder case: NIA court sends accused to seven-day police custody
Chennai: The Special Court under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, Poonamallee, has granted seven days of police custody for an accused arrested in connection with murder of Hindu Munnani spokesperson C Sasikumar in Coimbatore two years ago.
Sasikumar was hacked to death by a gang at Subramaniyampalayam on September 22, 2016. The next day, Thudiyalur police, Coimbatore district, had registered a case. As the cops failed to make any headway, the case was transferred to CB-CID (SID), Coimbatore. Meanwhile, several persons were arrested in connection with the case.
The prosecution had suspected that the assailants planned to murder Sasikumar to avenge murder of J. Abdul Hakkim, 27, a wall painter from Krishnaraj Colony in Ganapathy in September 2016. As directed by the Central Government, the NIA, Hyderabad, took over the case and filed a case before the Special Court for NIA, Poonamallee on January 31, 2018. And, on February 21, the NIA took over the case diaries from CB-CID, Coimbatore.
The NIA sought custody of accused Mubarak, who is under judicial custody in Salem Central Prison. The counsel for NIA, CSS Pillai, submitted that Mubarak's examination may provide further leads to the investigation to prosecute the actual assailants/accused. His custodial interrogation needed to collect more evidence to unearth the overall larger conspiracy of the murder hatched by the accused and their associates. They would be taken to various places in the state and neighboring States. Hence, Pillai sought his custody for ten days.
However, the counsel for Mubrak stated that he was already grilled by SID, CB-CID police and he had not confessed to the murder. The alleged confessional statement was a fabricated one. The custodial interrogation is illegal and unwarranted.
When the matter came up for hearing before special judge P. Chenthoorpandi said the NIA has a strong ground for seeking police custody since the investigation has been recently transferred to their hands. Only on February 21, 2018, the case diaries were handed over to the NIA.
Such being the case, to unearth certain aspects of investigation and to get lead for further investigation, the police custody of Mubarak is very much essential. This is not an usual case of retaliatory murder, but it is a case of causing communal disharmony between two groups of people and hence attained the status of sensitive in nature.
The judge permitted the NIA to take Mubarak under their custody for seven days from May 31 to June 7. The judge directed the personnel to produce Mubarak before the Salem Central Prison at 3 pm on June 7.
