The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recently filed a supplementary charge sheet against five members of Popular Front of India (PFI) for allegedly provoking and radicalising Muslim youths in the Nizamabad case. The accused are said to have recruited and imparted weapons training to these impressionable youths in specifically organized training camps. 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 the accused PFI cadre, namely Shaik Raheem, Shaik Vahaid Ali, Jafrulla Khan Pathan, Shaik Riyaz Ahmed, and Abdul Waris.
According to the NIA spokesperson, the aim of this terror module was to carry out violent terrorist activities in furtherance of the conspiracy to establish Islamic rule in the country by 2047. The 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 organized 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 NIA had taken over from the Telangana Police investigation into the case of alleged criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI leaders and cadre in August last year. The new recruits were given organized training and put through arms training for carrying out acts of terror and violence. The agency had filed the first charge sheet against 11 accused in December last year.
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.
