New Delhi, February 18 The NIA arrested a key member of the banned Popular Front of India on Wednesday, after he arrived at the Cochin International Airport from the UAE in a case of alleged radicalization and "violent jihad", bringing an end to his three-year escape from the law, officials said.
The accused has been identified as Moideenkutty P, a resident of Kattipparuthi in Malappuram district, Kerala.
Moideenkutty had been on the run for the past three years after the registration of a case related to "creating communal divisions between people of different communities through the radicalization of impressionable youth" in September 2022, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) said in a statement after his arrest.
According to the agency, Moideenkutty was the coordinator of physical education training for the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala, and fled soon after the case was registered.
During the investigation, the NIA conducted searches at his residence and recovered "numerous 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 a "reporters wing", a "physical and arms training wing" and a "service teams", to further the conspiracy.
It was also found that the PFI used its campuses, facilities and infrastructure to provide arms training to selected cadres under the guise of physical education, yoga training and similar activities, the agency said.
The NIA has so far charged 65 individuals in the case.