NIA charge sheets 11 in Nizamabad PFI case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet before a special court in Hyderabad against 11 persons in a case pertaining to organising of terror training camps and recruitment of persons for terrorist acts by the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) .

The case was initially registered at PS VI Town in Telangana's Nizamabad district. However, the probe was taken over by the NIA in August 2022.

"Investigations have revealed that the accused persons were radicalising gullible Muslim youth and recruiting them into the PFI through speeches filled with hatred and venom against the government of India as well as other organisations and individuals," the NIA said in the charge sheet.

"Once recruited, the Muslim youth were sent to training camps organized by the PFI under the cover and guise of yoga classes and Physical Education (PE) Beginners Course (BC), where they were trained in the use of everyday articles (knife, sickle and iron rods) to kill a person by attacking vulnerable body parts, such as the throat, stomach and head and for commission of terror acts," it added.

The accused Abdul Khader, Abdul Ahad, Shaik, Iliyas Ahmed, Abdul Saleem, Shaik, Shadullah, Feroz Khan, Mohammad Osman alias Usman, Syed Yahiya Sameer, Shaik Imran, Mohd Abdul Mubeen and Mohammad Irfan have been charge sheeted under sections 120B, 153(A) of IPC, Sections 17, 18, 18A & 18B of UA(P) Act.

Further investigations in the matter are currently underway.