Tag: PFI

NIA files chargesheet against 19 more PFI leaders

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a chargesheet against 19 more leaders of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) in a case related to a criminal conspiracy aimed at destabilising the country, an official said.
This is the fifth chargesheet filed by the NIA in connection with the matter this month.
“The investigation has exposed a trail of funding by the PFI to its terror operatives and weapons trainers across the country, both in cash and through regular bank transfers, in the guise of payment of salaries. All these PFI trainers have been arrested in cases registered either by the NIA or by different state police forces,” the NIA has alleged in the chargesheet.
An official said the NIA also froze 37 bank accounts of the PFI as well as 40 other bank accounts belonging to its 19 leaders.
The official said that a criminal conspiracy was hatched by PFI to divide the country on communal lines.
The NIA also learnt that “the ultimate objective of the conspiracy was to overthrow the existing system of secular and democratic governance in India and replace it with an Islamic Caliphate, along with Shariah/Islamic Law”.
The NIA said that PFI had devised a well-planned strategy to wage “an armed struggle against the Government of India by radicalising and recruiting Muslim youth who had already pledged their allegiance to the PFI and its ideology and tactics through administration of the oath of secrecy and loyalty (bayath)”.
According to the NIA, “these highly radicalised men were being trained in the use of arms and weapons in various ‘Arms Training Camps’ being conducted by PFI across the country with the intention of raising a well-trained ‘PFI Army’. PFI had hatched plans for its Army to wage a war to disintegrate and dismember the Indian Republic”.

Officials said the PFI’s activities included empowerment of Muslims and marginalised sections of society through campaigns and so-called social welfare schemes, in the guise of which the organisation was promoting its anti-India and violent agenda.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023
Hyderabad: NIA files supplementary charge sheet against five PFI ‘members’

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has filed a supplementary charge sheet against five members of Popular Front of India (PFI) for allegedly provoking and radicalising impressionable Muslim youths, recruiting them and imparting weapons training in specifically organized training camps.
In its supplementary charge sheet filed before a special court in Hyderabad on Thursday, the agency has invoked criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Shaik Raheem, Shaik Vahaid Ali, Jafrulla Khan Pathan, Shaik Riyaz Ahmed and Abdul Waris.
“The accused persons charged yesterday are trained PFI cadre who were found involved in provoking and radicalising impressionable Muslim youth, recruiting them into the PFI and imparting weapons training in specifically organized PFI training camps,” the NIA spokesperson said.
She said the aim was to carry out violent terrorist activities in furtherance of the conspiracy to establish Islamic rule in the country by 2047.
“These PFI cadre misinterpreted religious texts and proclaimed that a violent form of Jihad was necessary to alleviate the sufferings of Muslims in India. Once recruited into the PFI, the Muslim youth were sent to the training camps organised by the accused PFI cadre where they were trained in the use of lethal weapons to kill their ‘targets’ by attacking their vital body parts such as throat, stomach, head etc,” the agency said.
The NIA had in August last year taken over from the Telangana Police investigation into the case of alleged criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI leaders and cadre to recruit and radicalise youth and organise training camps to put them through arms training for carrying acts of terror and violence.
It filed the first charge sheet against 11 accused in the case in December last year, they said.
“On completion of further investigations into the case pertaining to the criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI leaders and cadre to recruit and radicalise youth and organise training camps to put them through arms training for carrying acts of terror and violence, the National Investigation Agency filed a supplementary charge sheet on March 16, 2023, against five accused in NIA Special Court, Hyderabad in the Nizamabad PFI case,” the NIA spokesperson said.

The agency said the PFI and its many affiliates were declared an ‘unlawful association’ by the Union Home Ministry in September 2022 after its involvement in violent activities came to light during investigations carried out by various state police and national agencies.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
NIA files charge sheets against 68 PFI leaders in Kerala, TN cases

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said that they have filed two charge sheets against a total of 68 Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders, cadres and members in two separate cases in Kochi (Kerala) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
The NIA filed the first charge sheet against the PFI members in Jaipur on March 13 and the second in Hyderabad on March 16.
The charge sheets filed on Friday in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the two states where PFI is the most active, relate to separate criminal conspiracies hatched by the PFI to create a wedge between people of different communities through radicalisation of impressionable Muslim youth, providing them with training in handling of weapons, and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.
An official said that Kerala PFI case was registered in September 2022 by the NIA to probe the criminal conspiracy hatched by the PFI and its leaders and cadres to create a wedge and between people of different communities through radicalisation of impressionable Muslim youth, training them in handling of weapons and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.
In addition to the above mentioned criminal conspiracy, the NIA, in its Kerala charge sheet, also included the connected case of the brutal killing of a Palakkad resident, Sreenivasan, who was hacked to death by armed PFI cadres.
The NIA investigations had shown some of the accused in the PFI criminal conspiracy case (September 2022) to have been involved in the Sreenivasan killing too.
The accused in the two charge sheets filed on Friday were charged under various sections of IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act.
In the Kerala case, registered in September 2022, the charge sheet has been filed in the Special Court in Ernakulam, against the PFI as well as an organisation and its 58 leaders.

The NIA had arrested 16 of the accused after taking over the case in 2022, while the others were arrested earlier by Kerala Police.
The Kerala charge sheet has been filed after searches were conducted by the NIA at more than 100 locations across the state. The NIA also attached 17 properties as they were identified as ‘proceeds of terrorism’ and frozen 18 bank accounts of the accused during the course of its investigations.
Investigations in the case had revealed that the accused had been conspiring to drive a wedge between different communities and groups living in India, spread the concept of violent extremism and Jihad in India with the objective of dismembering the country and taking it over by establishing Islamic Rule in India by 2047. To achieve these objectives, PFI had established various wings and units, such as ‘Reporters Wing’, ‘Physical and Arms Training Wing’ and ‘Service Teams’.
The NIA investigations also revealed that PFI was using its various campuses, facilities and infrastructure to impart arms training to selected cadres in the guise of Physical Education, Yoga Training etc. They also established a ‘Reporters Wing’ and ‘Service Teams or Hit Teams’ to eliminate their ‘targets’. Whenever required, PFI pressed into service its loyal and highly trained cadres of their ‘Service Teams’, as ‘executioners’ of the orders pronounced by their parallel courts, called ‘Dar-ul-Qaza’.
In a separate case registered and investigated by NIA Branch Office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, NIA also filed a charge sheet against 10 accused. This case was also registered in September, 2022 to probe the criminal conspiracy, hatched by the PFI and its leaders to divide people based on religious affiliations through radicalisation and weapons-training of impressionable Muslim youth to launch an armed struggle against the Government of India with the objective of establishing Islamic Rule in India by 2047.
The charge sheet, filed before the NIA Special Court Chennai in the Tamil Nadu case, named 10 accused, including Khalid Mohammed, the State Vice President of PFI.
This case was also registered in September 2022, when nine of the accused were arrested by the NIA.
The NIA investigations in the case had shown that the accused had conducted radicalisation programmes to motivate, instigate and recruit gullible Muslim youths, who were then provided weapons training in training camps. PFI cadres used to carry out instructions of PFI office-bearers and leaders to conduct recce and attack adversaries and commit unlawful and violent activities.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
Telangana: NIA charge sheet 5 in Nizamabad PFI terror training case

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New Delhi; The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a supplementary charge sheet before a special court in Hyderabad against five accused in the Nizamabad PFI case pertaining to criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI members to recruit and radicalise youth and organise training camps to put them through arms training for carrying out acts of terror and violence to make India an Islamic state by 2047.
“The accused are trained Popular Front of India (PFI) cadres who were found involved in provoking and radicalising impressionable Muslim youth, recruiting them into the PFI fold and imparting weapons training in specifically organised training camps. The aim was to carry out violent terrorist activities, in furtherance of the conspiracy to establish Islamic rule in the country by 2047,” the NIA said in its chargesheet.
The NIA chargesheet Shaik Raheem alias Abdul Raheem, Shaik Vahaid Ali alias Abdul Wahed Ali, Jafrulla Khan Pathan, Shaik Riyaz Ahmed and Abdul Waris under the relevant sections of IPC and UA(P)A.
In December 2022, the NIA had filed its first chargesheet against 11 accused in the case after taking over the investigation from Telangana police in August 2022.
“These PFI cadres misinterpreted religious texts and proclaimed that violent form of jihad is necessary to end the sufferings of Muslims in India. Once recruited into the PFI fold, the Muslim youth were sent to the training camps organised by the accused PFI cadres where they were trained in the use of lethal weapons to kill their ‘targets’ by attacking their vital body parts such as throat, stomach and head,” the NIA alleged.
The PFI and its many affiliates were declared as an ‘unlawful association’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs in September 2022 after its involvement in violent activities came to light during investigations carried out by various state police units and national agencies.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
NIA busts multi-state hawala network funding PFI terror activities

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New Delhi: The NIA on Tuesday claimed to have busted a multi-state hawala network funding the Popular Front of India’s terror activities with the arrest of five members of the banned outfit in Karnataka and Kerala.
The agency said despite the ban imposed on it on September 27 last year, PFI leaders and members continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.
“NIA teams have been carrying out extensive searches in Kasargod (Kerala) and Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka, since Sunday. Searches were conducted at eight locations leading to the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crores of rupees,” a spokesperson of the agency said.
The official said Popular Front of India (PFI) members Mahammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Iqbal and Abdul Rafeek M of Karnataka and Abid K M of Kerala have been arrested.
The arrest followed tracing and tracking of funds being moved by the PFI across the country, especially in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said, adding that the agency’s investigations into the Phulwarisharif PFI case of Bihar have led to the unearthing of a large network of hawala operatives in south India.
“A PFI funding-by-hawala module operating out of Bihar and Karnataka with roots in the UAE has been busted with the arrests of the five operatives,” the official said.
“PFI cadres in Phulwarisharif and Motihari had vowed to continue PFI activities in a clandestine manner in Bihar and had also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar’s East Champaran district. Three operatives of the module had been arrested on February 5,” the spokesperson said.
The official said people arrested from Karnataka and Kerala have been found to be actively involved in PFI’s criminal conspiracy to move and channelise illicit funds procured from outside India for distribution among leaders and members of the banned group.

Earlier, seven accused persons had been arrested when they had gathered in the Phulwarisharif area of Bihar’s Patna in July last year for training and to carry out acts of terror and violence, the spokesperson said.
Pursuing leads since July last year, the official said the NIA team found that despite the ban on its activities in September last year, the PFI continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.
Following the leads, the official said, the NIA investigators reached Nawaz and Sinan, who had been found making deposits in the bank accounts of accused and suspects in the PFI case.
“Dogged pursuit of the money trail and connecting the dots, the NIA managed to unravel the international conspiracy and linkages to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had collected illegally generated funds from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and handed them over to Sinan, Nawaz, Rafeek and Abid in India,” the spokesperson said.
“Investigations have shown that Sarfaraz, Sinan and Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of the accused and the suspects,” the official said.
The NIA said further investigations are on to track to trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the PFI.
The five accused will be produced in the NIA Special Court Patna, the spokesperson said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 7, 2023
Hathras conspiracy: UP STF nabs PFI functionary from Kerala wanted in UAPA case

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Noida: The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday said it has arrested a “functionary” of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) from Kerala on charges of conspiracy to trigger riots in the wake of the alleged gangrape and death of a Dalit girl in Hathras in 2020.
This is the same case in which journalist Siddique Kappan and three others were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Mathura by the UP police in October 2020 while they were on their way to Hathras. Kappan walked out of jail in February this year.
Suspect Kamal KP (aged around 50) was arrested from his residence in Kizhattur, under Melattur police station limits in Malappuram district of Kerala at around 12 pm on Friday, the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police said in a statement.
Kamal, who is believed to be handling the “hit-squad” of the movement, was arrested by a joint team of the Noida and the Agra units of the STF.
He is among the top officer bearers of the PFI and has worked as office secretary at its Delhi headquarters too, according to the statement.
“Kamal KP was wanted in connection with a case lodged at the Maat police station in Mathura regarding a well-planned attempt to provoke riots in the wake of the unfortunate incident in Hathras. He is an active member of the banned PFI and carried a reward of Rs 25,000,” the UP STF said.
According to an STF officer, Kamal’s is the ninth arrest in connection with the case lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings), 120B (criminal conspiracy), the IT Act and under provisions of the stringent anti-terror UAPA.
Of these nine, two suspects, including Kappan, have been released from jail so far, even as investigation continues into the case over the alleged role of the PFI in planning communal disharmony after the Hathras incident, the officer said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 3, 2023
Delhi HC seeks NIA stand on plea against PFI probe

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea seeking quashing of its probe against the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with an alleged criminal conspiracy to carry out terror activities in the country.
Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice on the petition by arrested PFI leader Oma Salam and asked the agency to file its response.
While the judge remarked during the hearing that “there is no question of stay” in the matter, the counsel for the petitioner said he was “not pressing it” either.
The counsel for the petitioner argued he was assailing the NIA case on “legal grounds” as the probe was not as per the NIA Act.
He contended that the offences being probed by the NIA have to be first registered by the state government, which has not been done in the present case.
The petitioner’s counsel also said no report under section 173 Criminal Procedure Code should be filed by the NIA in the case on completion of the investigation.
The case, registered in April last year, pertains to an alleged criminal conspiracy hatched by people associated with the PFI to raise funds from within India and abroad for committing acts of terror in various parts of the country.
The NIA has alleged that the accused were conducting training camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres to carry out terrorist activities.

A large number of alleged PFI activists were detained or arrested in several states during the massive raids preceding the nationwide ban imposed on it on September 28, 2022.
In near-simultaneous raids across the country as part of a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA, several PFI activists were detained or arrested in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
The arrests were made in states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.
The government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations for five years under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.
The matter will be heard next on July 11.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
NIA recovers airgun, weapons from PFI members in Rajasthan

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday said that they have seized digital devices, airgun, sharp weapons and incriminating documents after conducting raids at seven locations belonging to the alleged members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Rajasthan.
According to sources, the raids are being carried out at Kota, Bhilwara, Sawai, Madhopur, Bundi and at other places.
These locations are residential and commercial premises of the suspects in the case.
The raids started early Saturday morning and are currently underway.
“They were working for PFI and were holding senior posts in the organisation. Recently we recorded a statement of the accused who disclosed us about them. We have also gathered evidences after which raids were conducted,” the source said.
The case pertains to information received from reliable sources that Sadiq Sarraf and Mohammed Asif, both belonging to PFI, along with its office bearers, members and cadres had indulged in unlawful activities.
The case was initially registered suo-moto by the NIA on September 19, 2022.
The source added that there were possibilities of arrests in the matter.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 18, 2023
NIA arrests another accused in Rajasthan PFI case

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday said that they have made the third arrest in connection with the Rajasthan PFI case.
A senior NIA official said that the new arrested accused, identified as Mohammad Sohail, was found to have been actively involved in PFI’s criminal conspiracy to disturb peace and spread communal hatred and enmity.
“Sohail, alongwith PFI cadres, had conspired to radicalise Muslim youth to commit violent and unlawful activities,” the official said.
Earlier, the NIA had arrested two accused – Sadiq Sarraf and Mohammed Asif in the case, registered on September 19 last year.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 11, 2023
PFI wanted to turn India into Islamic state by 2047: Maha ATS

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has claimed the Popular Front of India (PFI), banned by the Centre last year, aimed to establish the “rule of Islam” in India by 2047, and also had plans to obtain weapons and ammunition with the help of foreign countries or other organisations to achieve their targets.
The ATS stated this in its chargesheet filed in a local court last week against five PFI members who were arrested last year for allegedly indulging in unlawful activities and waging a war against the country.
The state ATS arrested the five PFI members – Mazhar Khan, Sadiq Shaikh, Mohammad Iqbal Khan, Momin Mistry and Aasif Hussain Khan – following raids my multiple agencies across various states in September last year.
The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections for promoting enmity between different groups and conspiring to commit certain offences against the state, as well as provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In the chargesheet filed on February 2, the ATS claimed to have seized a document called “India 2047- towards rule of Islam in India”.
The seized document, as per the ATS, provides a roadmap for members of the group (PFI) to “overturn the government”.
“We dream a 2047, where the political power has returned to the Muslim community from whom it was unjustly taken away by the British Raj. The roadmap towards this first starts with the socio-economic development of Muslim community for which a separate roadmap was already provided in the name of Empower India Foundation,” the document said, as per the chargesheet.
“For this one needs to repeatedly remind the Muslim community of its grievances and establish grievances where there is none. All our frontal organisations including the party should be focused on expanding and recruiting new members,” the document stated.
The chargesheet said the PFI wanted to create a split among several communities by projecting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an organisation interested only in the welfare of upper caste Hindus.

The accused had held several training courses in order to achieve their targets, the ATS said.
The chargesheet also claimed another document was found from the devices of the accused, Iqbal, which gave details of their plans for expansion in Maharashtra.
In the said document, names of all the five accused were mentioned as members who were scheduled to take “final class”, the chargesheet stated.
The organisation (PFI) had plans to obtain weapons and ammunition with the help of foreign countries or other organisations to achieve their targets, the ATS claimed.
The Centre in September 2022 banned the PFI and several of its associates for five years under a stringent anti-terror law, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups like ISIS and trying to spread communal hatred in the country.
Before the ban, the National Investigating Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate(ED) and various state police forces had carried out raids in a massive pan-India crackdown on the PFI and arrested several of its leaders and activists from various states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 9, 2023