The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday busted a major module of banned radical outfit Popular Front of India operating out of Bihar, Kerala and Karnataka, arresting five operatives as part of the crackdown.
The crackdown is part of the central probe agency’s investigations into a PFI-related case in Bihar’s Phulwarisharif. According to NIA, the PFI cadre in Phulwarisharif and Motihari had vowed to continue the banned outfit’s activits in Bihar and also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar’s East Champaran District.
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The five arrested PFI members from Kerala’s Kasargod and Dakshin Kannada district of Karnataka have been found to be allegedly involved in the PFI conspiracy to move and channelise illegal funds procured from outside India and distribute among the outfit’s leaders, the NIA said in a statement.
The NIA teams carried out searches in Kasargod and Dakshin Kannada since Sunday at eight locations, resulting in the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crore rupees.
According to NIA, despite the ban the PFI and its cadre continue to propagate violent extremism and were arranging arms and ammunition to commit criminal acts. The NIA investigators zeroed in on Mohammad Sarfraz Nawaz and Md Mahammad Sinan who were allegedly making deposits in the bank accounts of accused in the PFI case.
The NIA said it managed to track the money trail and unravelled the international conspiracy and links to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had allegedly generated funds from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and handed over to Mahammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Abdul Rafeek M and Abid K. M. in India.
The NIA investigations show that Mohammad Sarfaraz, Md. Sinan and Md. Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of accused and the suspects, the NIA said. These 5 accused will be produced in NIA Special Court Patna.
Further investigations are on to track, trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the banned Peoples Front of India (PFI).
The case pertains to the raids carried out by the Bihar police in Phulwari Sharif last year, where they allegedly recovered objectionable documents, including one titled ‘Vision 2047 India’, which according to the investigative agencies and police, is a document showing their preparations to allegedly launch an ‘armed attack’ on the Indian State.
