NIA Cracks Down on 2023 Villianur Bomb Blast Case: Two Arrested in Puducherry for Leaking Witness Details
New Delhi, Sep 18: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two key suspects in the shocking 2023 Villianur bomb blast case. This comes after intense raids across four spots in Puducherry, including the Central Prison in the Union Territory.
The duo, Heram (also known as Karthi or TR) and Udhayakumar (alias Kumar), got nabbed for spilling sensitive info on protected witnesses. This includes names and other details in the brutal murder of political figure Senthil Kumaran. An NIA statement revealed how this leak aimed to mess with the case.
On Thursday, NIA teams swept through the Central Prison in Kalapet and Yanam Prison, plus two more locations. They grabbed mobile phones, SIM cards, and damning documents that exposed the identities of those protected witnesses in the Villianur bomb blast case.
Remember that horrific night? Around 9:30 PM, six attackers on bikes tossed a homemade bomb to daze Senthil Kumaran. Then, they hacked him to death with machetes and knives in Villianur, Puducherry. The NIA probe uncovered that these two arrested men teamed up with others, including main suspect Nithyanandam (alias Nithi), to snag and share witness names, identities, and even phone numbers.
Back in September 2023, NIA filed charges against Nithi and 12 others in this Puducherry murder case. Nithi sits in Yanam Prison right now, while the rest are locked up in Central Prison Kalapet.
Fresh intelligence during the investigation pointed to Nithi and his gang secretly getting hold of protected witness info in the bomb blast and murder probe. They allegedly used it to scare and pressure witnesses, all to sabotage the trial and block justice.
The NIA isn’t stopping here. They’re digging deeper into the bigger criminal plot behind the Villianur killing. Their focus? Unmasking anyone else breaking Section 17 of the NIA Act and Section 44 of the UA(P) Act, 1967—rules meant to shield witness identities and keep them safe in terror-related cases like this.
This arrest could be a game-changer in the ongoing Puducherry bomb blast investigation, as NIA pushes to bring all culprits to book. Stay tuned for more updates on this high-stakes case.
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