NIA nets key PFI fugitive at Kochi airport
Ending a three-year manhunt, the agency apprehends Moideenkutty P for allegedly orchestrating 'violent jihad' and weapons training for the banned outfit
New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) The NIA on Wednesday arrested a key member of the banned Popular Front of India, after he arrived at the Cochin International Airport from the UAE in a case of alleged radicalisation and "violent jihad", ending his three-year run from the law, officials said.
The accused has been identified as Moideenkutty P, a resident of Kattipparuthi in Kerala's Malappuram district.
Moideenkutty had been absconding for the past three years after the registration of a case related to "creating communal divide between people of different communities through radicalisation of impressionable youth" in September 2022, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) said in a statement after the arrest.
According to the agency, Moideenkutty was the coordinator of physical education training of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala and had fled soon after the case was registered.
During the probe, the NIA had conducted searches at his residence and recovered "many incriminating documents".
As part of the conspiracy, the agency said, selected youths were trained in handling weapons and raising funds to carry out acts of terror and violence, with the purported objective of "establishing Islamic rule in India by 2047".
The NIA investigation revealed that the accused conspired to spread the concept of "violent jihad" in India to dismember the country.
The PFI had allegedly set up various wings and units, including "reporters wing", "physical and arms training wing" and "service teams", to further the conspiracy.
It also found that PFI used its campuses, facilities and infrastructure to impart arms training to selected cadres under the guise of physical education, yoga training and similar activities, the agency said.
The NIA has so far chargesheeted 65 accused in the case. PTI