Kochi, Nov 29 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of seven PFI members, accused in the 2022 murder of RSS leader Srinivasan in the state's Palakkad district.

The accused are also facing trial for allegedly inciting communal violence in the state and other parts of the country.

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A bench of justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and K V Jayakumar said that on careful consideration of the materials on record, it was of the view that the prosecution has succeeded in showing the allegations against the seven accused "are prima facie true".

The High Court noted that, according to the records, one of the seven accused had arranged the motorcycle used by the assailants "to conduct a recce for locating the target (Srinivasan) and carrying out the terrorist act."

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The court also noted that the records indicated two of the seven accused had conducted a recce of the target on April 15, 2022.

Additionally, several documents, notices, magazines, and other items seized from the house of another accused included the controversial question paper linked to the "hand chopping case."

The "hand chopping case" refers to the 2010 incident in Idukki district, where Professor T J Joseph's palm was chopped off after he was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed in a question paper for an internal examination.

In light of these factors, the HC ruled the seven accused "are not entitled to be released on bail."

The decision followed the accused person's plea challenging the NIA special court's refusal to grant them bail.

Initially, 51 persons were named as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One of the arrested suspects died, and seven others remain absconding.

Chargesheets for the remaining accused were filed in two phases, in July and December 2022.

During the investigation into the murder, the Centre received intelligence suggesting that office-bearers and members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates in Kerala had conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise their cadre to carry out terrorist acts in Kerala and other parts of the country, the high court said.

In September 2022, the Centre directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation of the case against the accused.

On September 28, 2022, the Centre declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) a banned organisation.

The NIA filed its chargesheets in 2023, after which the accused filed their bail pleas before the special court.

In June this year, the court granted bail to 17 of the accused in the same case but denied relief to nine others.

S K Srinivasan, a former district leader and office-bearer of the RSS, was attacked by a six-member gang at his motorbike shop in Melamuri, Palakkad, less than 24 hours after a PFI leader, Subair, was allegedly killed by BJP workers in a nearby village.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)