New Delhi: The Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders who were arrested on Thursday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a nationwide crackdown over terror funding is reportedly not cooperating with the investigative agencies at NIA headquarters.
A day after all the 19 accused have been sent for five days police remand by a special NIA court in New Delhi, the accused are not "cooperating in the investigation process."
"In a day or two, we are hopeful to get more details about their funding and other activities," a senior official involved in the interrogation process told ETV Bharat on condition of anonymity. The official said that if necessary they will appeal to the court to extend the police remand of all the accused.
As the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interrogating the arrested leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI), the anti-terror organization has been trying to get details of PFI funding and its foreign connection.
A day after getting police remand till September 26, special interrogating teams of NIA and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are questioning the arrested PFI leaders back-to-back. Teams from ED are also assisting the NIA in the interrogation process, as the case is related to terror funding in a big way. The agencies believe that PFI leaders have been involved in terror funding.
The 19 accused arrested under case number RC/14/2022/NIA/DLI by the NIA on Thursday are OMA Salam alias OM Abdul Salam, Jaseer KP, VP Nazarudheen Elamaram alias Nazaruddin Elamaram, Mohammed Basheer, Shaffer KP, E AbuBacker, Prof P Koya alias Kaleem Koya and EM Abdul Rahiman from Kerala.
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As many as seven people Anis Ahmed, Afsar Pasha, Abdul Wahid Sait, Yasar Arafath Hasan, Mohammed Shakib alias Sharif, Muhammed Farooq Ur Rahman, and Shahid Nasir were arrested from Karnataka under the same case. Three people from Tamil Nadu namely M Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Mohammed Yousuf, and AS Ismail alias Appamma Ismail were arrested, while Waseem Ahmad has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh.
The NIA in its remand report has categorically mentioned that PFI used to influence gullible youths to join terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, Lashkar e Toiba and ISIS among others. The NIA further said that PFI members and leaders took part in terrorist activities in the name of jihad. It further said that PFI attempted to tweak government policies and create hatred in public.
Referring to the seizure of several incriminating documents and digital devices, the official informed that the agency will also make a close examination of the seized material. The agency believes that different social media tools were one of the major sources of sharing information with each other.
