The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday, October 12, carried out search operations at 20 different locations across the country in connection with its probe into the Phulwari Sharif terror module case and seized cash of around Rs 8.5 lakh. An NIA spokesperson said that the anti-terror probe agency sleuths carried out searches at in Fazalpur, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla, and Chandni Chowk in Delhi, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Thane and Mumbai in Maharashtra, Tonk and Gangapur in Rajasthan and in the regions of Lucknow, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The official said that the NIA also carried out searches in Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The official said that the searches were part of an ongoing investigation in cases linked with the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), and their involvement in unlawful and anti-national activities.
The official said that during searches, a substantial cache of crucial evidence in the ongoing case was found. "Evidence includes various digital devices such as laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, pen-drives, and hard disks. Furthermore, incriminating documents have been recovered," the official said.
The NIA also recovered cash of around Rs 8.5 lakh in connection with the instant case. The NIA had registered a case in July last year on the basis of the FIR registered at Phulwari Sharif police station in Bihar's Patna district.
The Bihar Police had carried out searches on July 11 last year based on confidential information. During the Bihar Police searches at the rented residence of Athar Parvez, led to the discovery of incriminating materials closely associated with the PFI.
Following the searches, several arrests were made including that of Parvej, Mohammad Jalaluddin Khan, Nooruddin Zangi aka Advocate Nooruddin, and Arman Malick aka Imteyaz Anwer for their alleged involvement in this matter. The NIA had filed three charge sheets in connection with the case against 13 suspects. The agency has arrested 17 accused persons for their alleged involvement in furthering the unlawful activities of PFI, including the illicit funneling of funds from overseas to the PFI members and suspects in this case.
Previously, the NIA conducted multiple searches in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala in order to collect evidence against the accused persons and suspects in the present case. During the ongoing investigations, the NIA apprehended Anwar Rashid, a former member of the banned organization Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Rashid's arrest is linked to his involvement in a criminal conspiracy, alongside FIR-named suspects Athar Parvej, Manjar Parvej, and others, all working towards advancing the agenda of the Popular Front of India (PFI).