NIA arrests absconding accused in Nizamabad PFI case

New Delhi: The NIA has arrested an absconding chargesheeted accused, carrying a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh for his arrest, in the Nizamabad PFI case involving an anti-India conspiracy by the banned outfit to carry out acts of terror and violence, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

Abdul Saleem, the state secretary for PFI's Telangana North, is the 15th accused to be arrested in the case, originally registered by the Telangana Police at Nizamabad police station in July 2022 and taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in August that year.

An integral part of the conspiracy of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its cadres was to make India into an Islamic nation by 2047. Abdul Saleem had been on the run since the case came to light and the NIA subsequently declared the reward for his arrest, the spokesperson said.

He was nabbed from Mydukur in Andhra Pradesh's Kadappa district following an intelligence-led operation, the official added.

NIA investigations in the case have shown that he was involved in the radicalisation and the recruitment of impressionable Muslim youngsters into the PFI. He was also sending them to terror training camps for weapons training to equip them to further the organisation's nefarious anti-India agenda, the spokesperson said.

The NIA had chargesheeted 11 accused, including Abdul Saleem, in December 2022, followed by supplementary charge sheets against five in March and December last year.