CHENNAI: A special court for NIA cases in Poonamallee on Friday sentenced four cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to life imprisonment for the murder of Hindu Munnani spokesman C Sasikumar in Coimbatore in 2016.The convicted men — Sadam Hussain, Subair, Mubarak and Mohammad Rafiqul Hassan — were fined Rs 30,000 each. The court convicted them under sections 302 (murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 153-A (promoting enmity between groups) of the IPC and sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court, however, acquitted one of the accused, Abu alias Syed Abuthagir.Sasikumar was hacked to death in Coimbatore on Sept 22, 2016, in a targeted killing intended to create terror among a section of society and trigger communal unrest, NIA had stated in its charge sheet. The incident was followed by violence in six districts, including Coimbatore city and rural areas, with more than 300 FIRs registered by state authorities.The case was initially registered at Thudiyalur police station and investigated by the CB-CID, Tamil Nadu, before being transferred to the NIA in 2018. Further investigation revealed that the accused, who were active PFI members, had entered into a criminal conspiracy and carried out the killing. The agency filed a chargesheet and two supplementary chargesheets against five accused.The trial, which commenced in 2019, saw the examination of 75 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses. NIA said it would examine the judgment and would explore legal remedies against the acquittal before the appellate court.
