Home Ministry hands over Bihar's Phulwari Sharif suspected terror module case to NIA

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation of Bihar's Phulwari Sharif case having links with extremist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

The NIA is in the process of taking over the case after it received MHA's order to probe the "terror module" case recently unearthed by Bihar Police with the arrest of three people for "their links with" PFI and their plans to indulge in "anti-India" activities.

"We (NIA) are in process of taking over Phulwari Sharif PFI case," a senior NIA official told ANI.

The MHA's direction came two days after the NIA carried out searches in Jamia Maria Niswa Madrasa located in Bihar's Purvi Champaran district and arrested a teacher identified as Asghar Ali.

Mohammad Jalaluddin, a retired Jharkhand Police officer, and Athar Parvez were arrested on July 13 from the Phulwari Sharif area of Bihar's capital Patna while Nuruddin Jangi was arrested three days later from Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad on the request of Bihar Police.

Bihar police has arrested five persons in the Phulwari Sharif case so far that named 26 people.

In the raids carried out by the Bihar police in Phulwari Sharif, many objectionable documents were recovered. One such document titled 'Vision 2047 India' had documented ways to launch an armed attack on the Indian State by Indian Muslims aided by Islamic nations like Turkey. Various pamphlets of PFI were also recovered by the police.

The accused were being trained in Phulwari Sharif 15 days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Patna. They held meetings on July 6-7 and had made communally inciting speeches.

Earlier, similar arrests were made in Telangana's Nizamabad where PFI had organised a similar radicalization camp to recruit and train Muslims in arms.

The case has drawn wide attention in Bihar.

The Enforcement Directorate has also launched a money laundering probe against PFI in the case.

( With inputs from ANI )

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