National Investigation Agency arrested PFI cadre from Delhi airport, accused of raising funds from Dubai

The National Investigation Agency has arrested a cadre of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from Dubai for raising funds for the banned organization to further its illegal activities in India. An official statement said on Sunday. A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested Mohammad Sajjad Alam, a resident of East Champaran district of Bihar, as soon as he landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here from Dubai, UAE.

The special NIA court had issued an arrest warrant against PFI-trained cadre Mohammad Sajjad Alam. The official statement also said that a Lookout Circular (LOC) was also issued against him. According to the NIA, the accused was involved in routing illegal funds from Dubai to PFI cadres in Bihar through syndicates present in UAE, Karnataka, and Kerala. The funds were used to promote the criminal and unlawful activities of the banned organization, the NIA said.

The case, registered by the Phulwari Sharif police in Bihar in July 2022, relates to the involvement of PFI activists in unlawful and anti-national activities. The statement said the activists conspired to create an atmosphere of terror and spread religious enmity between members of several religions and groups through activities prejudicial to maintaining peace and harmony in the country.

While acting to create enmity between different groups of people and disaffection against India, their activities involved using criminal force in promoting the PFI ideology for bringing Islamic rule in India as visualized in the organization's vision document 'India 2047: Towards the Rule of Islam in India, Internal Document: Not for Circulation'. The NIA, which took over the case a few days after the police registered the case, has filed a chargesheet against 17 accused in the case. Mohammed Sajjad Alam is the 18th accused to be arrested in the case.