Kochi: A court here has allowed a petition filed by the NIA to extend the judicial custody of two alleged PFI activists by 90 more days.
NIA Special Court Judge P K Mohandas on Friday permitted the agency's plea seeking an extension of custody of Moideenkutty of Valanchery in Malappuram and Muhammad Yazer Arafath of Neerikode in Ernakulam.
The two are accused in cases related to alleged anti-national activities of the Popular Front of India, including the murder of RSS activist Sreenivasan in Palakkad in April 2022.
They were arrested earlier this year after allegedly going into hiding following the registration of the case in 2022.
The National Investigation Agency told the court that the investigation against the duo could not be completed within the stipulated 90 days and sought additional time.
After examining the progress of the probe, the court noted that digital evidence linked to the accused persons was still under analysis.
"On going through the reasons specifically reported by the learned Public Prosecutor and on an analysis of the progress of the investigation till date, it is clear that the evidence collected comprises voluminous data and that the activities of the accused are to be investigated in detail, for which sufficient time is required," the court observed.
Allowing the plea, the court directed the NIA to complete the investigation within the next 90 days.
There are a total of 71 accused in the case, of whom a majority have secured bail from the High Court and the Supreme Court.
