Nearly three years after a PMK leader was murdered in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials in Chennai have released posters in which a reward of Rs 5 lakh has been announced for information about the accused in connection to the murder. The posters carry the photos of five wanted accused and affirmed that the details about the informants would be kept confidential. 

According to reports, PMK functionary Ramalingam was assaulted and murdered by a gang in Thanjavur on February 5, 2019. He was murdered in Thirubhuvanam and the Thiruvidaimaruthur police had registered a case into the murder and that case was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency. While the NIA had named 18 people as accused, only 13 of them have been arrested so far. 

The agency has been searching for the five remaining accused. However, the searches didn't give any breakthrough following which the agency has now come up with the plan of rewarding the people for giving information about the accused, who are at large. The poster has come after the special court for NIA cases has declared the five accused as proclaimed offenders in the case.

The posters with Rs 5 lakh reward carry photos of the five proclaimed offenders - H Mohammed Ali Jinnah (34) of Thirubuvanam, M Abdul Majith (37) of Kumbakonam, M Bhurkhandeen (28) of Papanasam in the Thanjavur district, Shahul Hammed (27) of Thiruvidaimarudur, and Nafeel Hasan (28) of Thirumangalakudi in the Thanjavur district. The NIA officials had circulated the posters to the police department to intensify the manhunt. 

The officials had said that if anyone furnishes information about any of them, the NIA will reward Rs 5 lakh to that person. The agency will keep the details about the informer confidential. It must be noted that PMK leader Ramalingam had opposed the Dawah work carried out by the Popular Front of India members in the Thanjavur district following which he was killed.