Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sep 22: In the bomb blast case involving the horrific death of a political official in Villianur (Puducherry), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheeted 13 individuals on Friday.
The agency filed charges against Nithyanandam, a main conspirator in the case, as well as his associates Vignesh, Siva Sankar, Raja, Pradap, Karthikeyan, Vengatesh, Rajamani, Ezhumalai, Kathirvel, Ramachandiran, Lakshmanan, Dhilipan and Ramanathan.
Except for Ramanathan, all of them have been charged by the NIA with violations of the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
After committing the crime, all of the suspects were taken into custody.
Senthul Kumaran was attacked on March 26, 2023, by six motorcycle-riding attackers who threw countrymade bombs at him in front of a bakery in the Puducherry union territory’s Villianur. The victim was then attacked by the accused with machetes, which immediately killed him.
A case was initially reported to the local police, transferred to the NIA and then re-registered on April 29 of this year.
Nithiyanantham planned the attack on Senthil Kumaran in order to terrorise the residents of Villianur and the nearby areas, according to NIA investigations into the case.
Nithiyanantham planned the machetes for the violent attack and assembled a terrorist group to make countrymade bombs as part of the conspiracy.
The NIA stated that as part of the plot, Nithiyanantham had deployed Kathirvel to spy on Senthil Kumaran in Villianur.
The main culprit sent the six assailants, Vignesh, Siva Sankar, Raja, Pradeep, Karthikeyan and Vengatesh, on three motorcycles to carry out the assassination when Senthil’s presence in the area was confirmed, according to the agency.
The accused had hidden the assassination’s vehicles, blood-stained machetes, and blood-stained clothes after the tragic assault. The agency added that “Recovery of these items was made during investigations, on the basis of their disclosures.”
