Under UAPA, the accused can be kept under detention for 90 days without bail, which can extend upto 180 days.
The Tamil Nadu police have invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activites (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the two accused arrested for the murder of Special Sub Inspector Wilson in Kaliyakkavilai checkpost in Kanyakumari district on January 8.
According to reports, the UAPA was invoked on Abdul Shameem and Thoufiq on Friday by the state police. Under the recent amendments made to UAPA, individuals can be declared as terrorists and their properties can be seized if they were bought out of the money from terrorism. UAPA also empowers the police to detain suspects without granting bail for 90 days, which can be extended upto 180 days.
Y Wilson, a Special Sub Inspector with Tamil Nadu police, was stationed at the Kaliyakkavilai checkpost to check the movement of medical and poultry waste from Kerala into Tamil Nadu. In the wee hours of January 8, Wilson was shot dead by two men, who were identified as Shameem and Thoufiq using CCTV footage of the spot. The duo were apprehended from Udupi railway station in Karnataka on Tuesday. The district police had registered an FIR against the duo under sections 302 [Murder] of the IPC and the Arms Act.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also expected to take over the case soon, since the police have now invoked UAPA on the accused. The accused were produced before a court on Thursday night and remanded to judicial custody. They have been lodged in the Palayamkottai prison in Tirunelveli.
N Sreenath, SP of Kanyakumari told reporters that the two accused were upset over the arrest of their aides and hence killed Wilson to take revenge on the police. Adding that the men had confessed to their crime to the police, the SP noted that they had also allegedly planned coordinated attacks using suicide bombers on January 26.
Source: The News Minute