Kochi | A court here has ordered the release of the body of an accused who died in judicial custody in connection with a case registered against the banned PFI.

NIA Special Court Judge P K Mohandas ordered the release of the body of Mohammed Yasar Arafath, the 64th accused in the case related to the alleged anti-national activities of the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Arafath (34), a native of Neerikode in Alangad, near here, surrendered before the NIA court in February this year.

He was lodged at the High Security Prison in Viyyur, Thrissur and was later shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital due to a cardiac ailment.

He died at the hospital on Thursday.

Following a petition filed by Arafath's lawyer, the court directed the Superintendent of the Central Prison, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, to take immediate steps to release the body to his close relatives after completing the legal formalities.

The court also directed the Superintendent to conduct an inquiry and file a report under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which mandates an inquiry into the cause of death of a person while in judicial custody.

The NIA began probing the PFI's alleged anti-national activities in 2022, after which the Union government banned the outfit.

So far, the NIA has filed a charge sheet against 71 accused persons in the case.