PFI probe: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday said that it had seized a portion of a school facility in Maharashtra's Pune, which it claimed the Popular Front of India (PFI) had used to radicalise Muslim youth for carrying out targeted killings of leaders of a community.
The attachment of the 4th and 5th floors of the Blue Bell School was undertaken on Sunday. The federal anti-terror probe agency said in a statement that the PFI was "recruiting" innocent Muslim youth into the outfit on these premises. Further, it was also providing them with armed and unarmed training to eliminate or attack those opposed to the establishment of Islamic rule in the country by 2047.
PFI was banned in 2022
Last year in September, the PFI was banned and declared an "unlawful association" by the Union government after a number of its office bearers were raided and arrested by the NIA and other central agencies and state police departments.
The action has been undertaken under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the immovable asset has been called as "proceeds of terrorism" by the NIA. The action relates to an FIR filed against the PFI in April last year and a chargesheet was filed in March this year before a Delhi court and the NIA named 20 entities including the PFI.
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CBI seizes incriminating document
"The NIA had conducted a search of the two floors of the school premises on September 22 last year. The agency had seized incriminating documents, which revealed that the said property was used by the accused, found to be associated with the PFI, for organising arms training for its cadres. The training camps served as a platform to incite innocent Muslim youth against the government, as well as leaders and organisations of a particular community," the agency said.
The camps were also used to "inflame their passions" and "provoke" them into embracing violent "jihad", with the aim of committing terrorist activities, the NIA said.
The agency said its probe found that the newly recruited PFI cadres were trained in the use of dangerous weapons, like knives, sickle etc. for "attacking and murdering" prominent leaders opposed to the outfit's ideology of establishing an Islamic rule in India.
"The NIA investigations had earlier revealed that the accused were part of the criminal conspiracy to establish Caliphate and Islamic rule in India by waging war against the country and toppling the democratically elected government. "They were all identified as senior PFI cadres/NEC members/ accountant(s)/authorised signatories of PFI's bank accounts," it added.
(With PTI inputs)
