NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested an absconding ‘master trainer’ of Popular Front of India (PFI) from Kerala’s Kannur district, in a case relating to conspiracy by the proscribed outfit to carry out targeted terror strikes as part of a larger plan to establish Islamic rule in India by 2047.
A joint search mounted by an NIA fugitive tracking team and Kerala police’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had tracked down Jafar Bheemantavida, an accused in the PFI Kerala case, to his house in Kannur.
Jafar is the 59th accused to be arrested in the case. NIA has so far chargesheeted 60 accused in the case.
NIA investigations have revealed that Jafar was part of the PFI set up that was operating clandestinely to establish Islamic Rule in India by 2047. He is a suspected PFI master trainer engaged in imparting weapons training to PFI cadres and preparing them to operate as members of service teams or hit squads. As per the NIA chargesheet filed earlier in the case, such hit squads were tasked by PFI leadership to eliminate identified targets perceived to be working against Islam or who may be an impediment to PFI’s objective of establishing Islamic rule in India by dislodging the democratically-elected government.
Jafar has previous criminal history, having been involved in various ‘attempt to murder’ and assault cases in Kerala, as per NIA. Efforts are on to trace the other absconding accused involved in the conspiracy.
A joint search mounted by an NIA fugitive tracking team and Kerala police’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had tracked down Jafar Bheemantavida, an accused in the PFI Kerala case, to his house in Kannur.
Jafar is the 59th accused to be arrested in the case. NIA has so far chargesheeted 60 accused in the case.
NIA investigations have revealed that Jafar was part of the PFI set up that was operating clandestinely to establish Islamic Rule in India by 2047. He is a suspected PFI master trainer engaged in imparting weapons training to PFI cadres and preparing them to operate as members of service teams or hit squads. As per the NIA chargesheet filed earlier in the case, such hit squads were tasked by PFI leadership to eliminate identified targets perceived to be working against Islam or who may be an impediment to PFI’s objective of establishing Islamic rule in India by dislodging the democratically-elected government.
Jafar has previous criminal history, having been involved in various ‘attempt to murder’ and assault cases in Kerala, as per NIA. Efforts are on to trace the other absconding accused involved in the conspiracy.
