Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a key accused in the Tamil Nadu Hizb-ut-Tahrir case which involved attempts to radicalise the youth and establish an Islamic caliphate in India, according to an official release. The accused was apprehended at the Bengaluru International Airport while trying to flee abroad.
The accused was identified as Aziz Ahamed alias Aziz Ahmed alias Jaleel Aziz Ahmed. The case was registered by the NIA against six accused, who were allegedly influenced by the extremist, radical and fundamental organisation that has been trying to establish an Islamic caliphate and enforce the constitution written by its founder Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani.
As per the investigations conducted by the NIA, the accused had conducted secret 'Bayaans' (meetings), where many participants, particularly gullible youth, were radicalized with ideologies of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which seeks military assistance (Nusra) from forces inimical to India to achieve its goal. Aziz Ahamed was found to be one of the chief initiators in conducting secret Bayaans.
This came two months after the NIA conducted raids to arrest six members of HuT for anti-national activities such as propaganda against holding elections and democracy. The arrested persons included-- a man in his fifties, his two sons and three others who were aged between 26 and 33. The provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) have been invoked against them.
Hameed Hussain, one of the accused, had a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and had been teaching engineering in colleges. He was involved in posting videos on YouTube advocating his ideology while his father Mansoor held private meetings to further the same cause. One of the arguments of HuT members against democracy was that democracy and the rule of law were man-made and hence subject to change and not perfect.
Notably, the HuT is a banned organisation in countries including Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. The NIA had also conducted searches at 10 locations across Tamil Nadu in June in connection with their probe, arresting two members of the organisation.
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