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NIA charges 11 for recruiting, training PFI cadre in Telangana
The charge sheet against 10 people from Telangana and one from Andhra Pradesh was filed on Thursday before a special NIA court in Hyderabad.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against 11 people as part of its probe into alleged organisation of terror training camps and recruitment of Muslim youngsters for banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in Telangana, according to people aware of the developments.
The charge sheet against 10 people from Telangana and one from Andhra Pradesh was filed on Thursday before a special NIA court in Hyderabad.
The central anti-terror probe agency had taken over the probe into the matter on August 26 from Telangana’s Nizamabad Police.
“Investigations have revealed that the accused persons were radicalising gullible Muslim youth and recruiting them into the PFI through speeches filled with hatred and venom against the government of India as well as other organisations and individuals,” a NIA spokesperson said.
“Once recruited into the PFI, Muslim youths were sent to training camps organised by the PFI under the cover and guise of yoga classes and physical education...,” the spokesperson added.
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The PFI and its eight affiliate organisations were banned under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on September 28, after a nationwide crackdown by NIA and Enforcement Directorate (ED) led to arrests and recovery of purported incriminating documents from offices and residences of the outfit’s office bearers.
The Centre alleged the outfit was fueling radicalisation and was involved in terror funding.
The spokesperson said that in the beginners’ course, recruits were trained in use of daily articles (such as knife, sickle and iron rods) to kill a person by attacking vulnerable body parts such as throat, stomach and head, and for commission of terror acts.
Those named in the charge sheet are Abdul Khader, Abdul Ahad, Abdul Saleem, Shaik Shadullah, Feroz Khan, Mohammad Osman, Syed Yahiya Sameer, Shaik Imran, Abdul Mubeen and Mohammad Irfan of Telangana, and Shaik Iliyas Ahmed of Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, in another PFI related case in Kerala, the federal agency on Friday arrested a Kerala high court advocate and outfit’s martial arts and hit squad trainer, Mohammed Mubarak Al.
Mohammed is a resident of Ernakulam district.
The arrest came a day after the agency raided 56 places in the state linked to PFI suspects/sympathisers.
The agency said it recovered arms concealed in a badminton racket from Mohammed’s house during the raids. An axe, swords and sickles were also seized from his place.
“Investigations confirmed that the PFI was raising, training and maintaining hit squads in different states and districts to target leaders and members of other communities,” NIA said.
