NIA files supplementary charge sheet against one more accused in PFI Patna case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has filed a supplementary charge sheet against one more accused in a case related to unlawful and anti-national activities of the banned Popular Front of India in Bihar's capital Patna, an official said on Sunday.

State vice president of PFI Mohd Reyaz Moarif alias Bablu has been charge-sheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, raising the total number of accused to be charge-sheeted in the case to 17, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

The official said the case was initially registered in July 2022 under various sections of IPC against 26 people. So far 40 people have been found involved in the proscribed outfit's criminal conspiracy to wage a war against the Government of India.

Investigations have revealed that Moarif was engaged in unlawful and anti-national activities under the banner of Popular Front of India (PFI) even after the organisation was banned by the Union government, the spokesperson said.

The official said the accused was actively radicalising Muslim youth to join the PFI, organising weapons training for them and also collecting funds for furthering the banned outfit's violent agenda and activities.

Acting on directions from top PFI leadership, Moarif, in association with accused Sanaullah, Athar Parvez and Jalaluddin Khan, had arranged a rented accommodation at Ahmad Palace in Patna's Phulwarisharif for recruitment, training and other criminal activities of PFI cadres on a large scale, the spokesperson said.

Along with the co-accused, the NIA said Moarif had organised several arms training camps for PFI cadres in Bihar, including at Ahmad Palace.

The spokesperson said the NIA had seized from the accused the PFI Vision document 'India 2047 Towards Rule of Islam in India, Internal Document: Not for circulation' and other incriminating articles, exposing the organisation's larger conspiracy to achieve its goal of establishing the 'Rule of Islam in India'.