'Ramalingam’s murder was to warn others': Cops add more sections to FIR

The FIR copy was altered after first round of questioning of those who were arrested by the Thiruvidaimarudhur police.

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The First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Thiruvidaimarudhur police in the case of the murder of PMK member Ramalingam on February 5, has alleged that the motive behind the murder was to incite communal tension.

Ramalingam was attacked with weapons by four unidentified men as he and his son were travelling home on the night of February 5. With a grievous injury inflicted on his right hand, Ramalingam bled to death as he was being taken from one hospital to another. As on date, the police has arrested nine persons in connection with the murder including a PFI member and the owner of the vehicle in which the assailants allegedly came. Mohammad Azaruddin, Mohamma Riaz, Nizam Ali, Sarbuddin and Mohammad Riaz were arrested on February 7 while Mohammed Toufiq, Mohammed Parvez and Touhid Basha were taken into custody on February 9. The vehicle used in the crime was seized and its owner Mohammed Ibrahim was also arrested by the police on Monday. On February 5 afternoon, Ramalingam had gotten into an argument with a group of Muslim men who had gone to a Dalit colony in Thirubhuvanam to preach about Islam.

Though the FIR initially was registered under section 302 (Murder) of the IPC on February 6, the police have altered the FIR substantially to include sections from the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The altered FIR also describes the reasons the police believe lead to the brutal murder.

The FIR, at many places, alleges that the motive behind Ramalingam’s murder was to create fear among people that anyone who questions Islam cannot get away lightly.

“...as a warning to people who are part of rationalist movements, people from other religions and the general public who engage in activities against Allah, Muhammed Nabi or Islam..."reads the FIR.

The investigating officer has also stated that his investigation revealed that the murder was a planned one. “My investigation reveals that there was a conspiracy behind the murder and it was to incite communal tension between Hindus and people from other religions living in that area. Their actions have the potential to disrupt communal harmony and general peace in the area,” the altered FIR reads.

“They have also committed the crime to convey the message that whoever -- Muslim or otherwise -- speaks against Allah or Islam will be killed in a way similar to Jihad so that nobody else dares to talk about the religion or Allah,” reads the FIR.

However, R Shiyamsundhar, Ramalingam's 17-year-old-son told Scroll.in that of the nine men arrested, none of them were among the four who had attacked his father. “I saw the pictures of those arrested. They did not attack my father. I have never seen the persons who attacked him before. They were not from this town. They were outsiders and smelled of alcohol," he said. The family told the website that one of the arrested, Nijam Ali, was their friend.

Though police officials have repeatedly said that they believe Ramalingam was attacked as a fallout of the argument he had with the Muslim men, they have not divulged details of the exact role played by the arrested men.

Meanwhile, BJP and other Hindu groups called for a complete shutdown of shops in Thanjavur districts on Tuesday condemning Ramalingam’s murder.