NIA arrests Popular Front of India cadre for channelising funds from Dubai

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Mohammad Sajjad Alam of East Champaran district, Bihar, on Saturday as soon as he landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from Dubai.

New Delhi: The NIA has arrested a cadre of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for channelising funds from Dubai for the banned outfit to further its unlawful activities in India, an official statement issued on Sunday said.

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Mohammad Sajjad Alam of East Champaran district, Bihar, on Saturday as soon as he landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here from Dubai, UAE, it said.

An arrest warrant had been issued against Alam, a trained cadre of the PFI, by a special NIA court. A lookout circular (LOC) had also been issued against him, the statement said.

According to the NIA, the accused was involved in channelising illegal funds from Dubai to PFI cadres in Bihar through a UAE, Karnataka and Kerala-based syndicate.

The funds were used for promoting the banned outfit's criminal and unlawful activities, the NIA said.

The case, which was initially registered by Phulwari Sharif police in Bihar in July 2022, relates to PFI cadres' involvement in unlawful and anti-national activities.

The cadres conspired to create an atmosphere of terror and spread religious enmity between members of different religions and groups through activities prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and harmony in the country, the statement said.

Aimed at disrupting public tranquillity and causing disaffection against India, their activities involved the use of criminal force to advance the PFI ideology of establishing Islamic rule in India as envisaged in the organisation's vision document, "India 2047: Towards Rule of Islam in India, Internal Document: Not for circulation", the probe agency said.

The NIA, which took over the case days after it was registered by police, has charge-sheeted 17 accused in the case. Alam is the 18th accused to be arrested in the case.