The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday carried out searches at 20 locations allegedly linked to the banned terror outfit, the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The searches were conducted in Delhi’s Fazalpur, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla, and Chandni Chowk; Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh; Thane and Mumbai in Maharashtra; Tonk and Gangapur City in Rajasthan; and in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur, besides Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
During the multi-State operation conducted in connection with a 2022 case, the agency seized digital devices, including laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, pen drives, and hard discs, apart from ₹8.50 lakh in cash
The case was initially registered on July 12, 2022, by the Phulwarisharif police in Patna, Bihar, a day after they raided the rented residence of accused Athar Parvez. “Notably, a document titled ‘India 2047 Towards Rule of Islam in India, Internal Document: Not for circulation’ was among the findings,” said the agency.
Further investigation led to the arrest of several suspects at the initial stages. The accused persons in the case, identified as Athar Parvez, Mohammed Jalaluddin Khan, Nooruddin Zangi, and Arman Malick, were taken into custody at that time.
The NIA has filed three chargesheets against 13 persons and taken 17 accused into custody so far. “They are alleged to have been actively involved in furthering the unlawful activities of PFI, including the illicit funnelling of funds from overseas to the PFI members and suspects in this case,” it said.
Earlier, the agency had conducted searches in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, in order to collect evidence. Anwar Rashid, a former member of the banned organisation, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), was also arrested.
The NIA alleged that Rashid’s arrest was linked to his involvement in a criminal conspiracy, alongside suspects named in the FIR, for furthering PFI agenda.
“Following the ban on SIMI, its members, including Anwar Rashid, were associated with Wahadat-e-Islami, an organisation formed by former SIMI members, and continued to promote the ideology of Islamic rule in India,” alleged the NIA.
