Kozhikode: The Kerala unit of Jamaat-e-Islami has issued a legal notice to BJP leader Sobha Surendran over her remarks alleging the organisation’s involvement in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan and describing it as a terrorist outfit.

In the notice, Jamaat-e-Islami stated that Surendran, the NDA candidate in the Palakkad Assembly elections, made baseless allegations in an attempt to divert attention from reports of money being distributed to voters and to garner support by spreading Islamophobia.

The organisation said the remarks were made during a press conference convened after visuals—purportedly showing money being handed to a voter during the Palakkad election campaign—surfaced in a section of the media.

The notice, sent by state secretary Shihab Pookkottur through advocate Ameen Hassan, demands that Surendran withdraw her statements, issue a public apology, and pay compensation of ₹1 crore.

Sreenivasan, a former RSS district leader and office-bearer, was killed on April 16, 2022, when a six-member gang attacked him at his motorbike shop in Melamuri, Palakkad. The incident occurred less than 24 hours after the killing of Subair, worker of Popular Front of India (PFI), allegedly by BJP workers in a nearby village.

In the initial phase of the investigation, 51 individuals were arraigned as accused in connection with the murder case.