NIA chargesheets 13 people in Puducherry bomb blast, assassination case

In the bomb blast case involving the brutal assassination of a political official in Villianur (Puducherry), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged 13 individuals on Friday. The agency filed charges against Nithyanandam, a key conspirator in the case, as well as his associates Vignesh, Siva Sankar, Raja, Pradap, Karthikeyan, Vengatesh, Rajamani, Ezhumalai, Kathirvel, Ramachandiran, Lakshmanan, Dhilipan, and Ramanathan.

Except for Ramanathan, all of them have been charged by the NIA with violations of the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). After committing the crime, all of the accused were taken into custody. Senthul Kumaran was attacked on March 26, 2023, by six motorcycle-riding attackers who threw homemade bombs at him in front of a bakery in the Puducherry union territory’s Villianur. The victim was then attacked by the defendant with machetes, who immediately killed him.

A case was initially reported to the local police, transferred to the NIA, and then re-reported on April 29 of this year. According to NIA investigations into the case, Nithiyanantham planned the attack on Senthil Kumaran in order to terrorize the residents of Villianur and the surrounding areas. Nithiyanantham organized the machetes for the brutal attack and organized a terrorist group to make homegrown explosives as part of the conspiracy.

As part of the conspiracy, the NIA said, Nithiyanantham had sent Kathirvel to conduct surveillance on Senthil Kumaran in Villianur.
After Senthil’s presence in the area was confirmed, the agency said, the main accused sent the six assailants, Vignesh, Siva Sankar, Raja, Pradeep, Karthikeyan and Vengatesh, on three motorcycles to carry out the assassination.