NIA arrests key accused in Bengaluru RSS activist's murder case from Mumbai airport

New Delhi: A Popular Front of India (PFI) operative, who is suspected to be the key conspirator in the murder of RSS functionary Rudresh, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Mumbai airport when he landed there from Tanzania where he was in hiding, officials said on Saturday.

Ghouse Nayazi was flying from Tanzania's Dar es Salaam to Mumbai and an NIA team apprehended him on his arrival, an official statement said. Following technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, officials said, Nayazi was located in Tanzania where law enforcement authorities caught him and flown him to India.

He is the alleged key conspirator in the murder of Rudresh, a prominent RSS leader of Shivajinagar in Bengaluru. He was hacked to death by four members of the banned PFI on 16 October, 2016.

According to the statement, Nayazi, who was the President of SDPI Hebbal Assembly constituency and one Asim Sheriff had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to kill Rudresh. SDPI is the political arm of PFI.

"The duo had motivated the other four accused to kill Rudresh with an intention to strike terror among the members of RSS and the society. The killers were persuaded to believe that the fight against the RSS was a ‘holy war’," it said.

With Nayazi's arrest, all the accused in the case have been arrested. The trial against the remaining accused persons is continuing in NIA Special Court in Bengaluru.

According to the chargesheet filed by the NIA on 21 April, 2017, five persons were arrested by the Karnataka Police in connection with the case. They were identified as Irfan Pasha, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Sadiq, Mohammed Mujeeb Ulla and Asim Sheriff.

"None of the accused had personal enmity with the deceased Rudresh. He was killed solely because of his leadership/membership to a particular organisation. Investigation has established that the killing was a clear act of terror with the intention to strike terror among a section of the people. This was achieved by the broad daylight murder of a RSS member in uniform using a lethal weapon," an NIA statement in April 2017 had said.

The investigation by the NIA has revealed that the five accused and others had held conspiracy meetings prior to the terrorist act near Aksa Masjid, and near Chota Charminar in Bengaluru in September 2016 and decided to kill at least two RSS workers in uniform soon after their procession.

"The killing of RSS workers would immediately strike terror in a section of people and prevent many of them from joining the organization. Investigation has disclosed that the indoctrination of the members was done in order to make them believe that they were doing their act as part of fulfilling the objective of establishing Islam and Jihad by killing a 'kafir (member of RSS who is an idol worshipper)," the statement had said.