New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) The NIA on Monday filed charges against six persons for allegedly threatening witnesses in a bid to subvert the trial into the assassination of Puducherry’s BJP leader Senthil Kumaran.
The accused, identified as Nithyanantham alias Nithi, Siva Sankar, Vengatesh, Ezhumalai, Heram alias Karthi and Udhayakumar, have been chargesheeted before a special NIA court in Puducherry, an official statement said.
Four of these accused, namely Nithyanantham, Siva Sankar, Vengatesh and Ezhumalai, were chargesheeted earlier for their alleged role in the deadly attack on the BJP leader.
In the new chargesheet, the NIA has filed fresh charges against these four, and has also charged Karthi and Udhayakumar for allegedly unlawfully obtaining witnesses’ details and issuing threats to them, the NIA said in a statement.
Senthil, a local BJP leader, was ruthlessly murdered by six bike-borne assailants with explosives and lethal weapons in Villianur in Puducherry in March 2023, the probe agency said.
Local police had initially registered a case, which was subsequently taken over for investigation by the NIA.
According to NIA, investigations reveal that the four previously chargesheeted accused had conspired with the two others from the precincts of Central Prison Kalapet and Special Prison in Yanam, Puducherry, to obtain certain confidential documents unlawfully.
In order to subvert and sabotage the trial, they had used these documents to identify the witnesses, including the protected witnesses, with the intent to threaten them against deposing before the trial court, the NIA said.
Having discovered prime accused Nithi’s modus operandi with respect to witness sabotage, NIA had requested the court to shift him from Central Prison Kalapet to Special Prison Yanam.
The anti-terror agency had also arrested two of his accomplices and taken them in remand.
In September 2025, NIA conducted searches in the prisons and residences of the conduits and seized several incriminating material evidences relating to the conspiracy.
Investigations in the instant witness sabotage conspiracy case are continuing, and the NIA has appealed to all citizens to share any information in this regard, with the promise to keep their identity secret, the statement said. PTI AKV SKY SKY
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