Kerala PFI case: NIA declares Rs 3 lakh reward for absconding Ayoob TA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has issued a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh for providing information leading to the arrest of absconding accused Ayoob TA.

Ayoob, a resident of Kerala’s Ernakulam district, is wanted in connection with the investigation of the Kerala Popular Front of India case which pertains to the activities of PFI, its office bearers, members, and affiliates in Kerala. Those involved have been accused of conspiring to indulge in unlawful activities by creating enmity between members of different religions and groups, prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and communal harmony, and encouraging vulnerable youth to join terrorist organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or Daesh and Al-Qaida. The conspiracy was aimed to establish Islamic rule in India by committing terrorist acts as a part of violent jihad, said the NIA.

On 17 January this year, the NIA conducted a series of searches in the Kollam district and arrested an accused, identified as Mohammed Sadik. The case was suo-motu registered by the NIA on 19 September last year.

According to the investigation, the PFI had assigned the job of a ‘reporter’ to the accused Sadik. A reporter in the PFI’s system collects details about other community leaders as potential targets by the outfit’s ‘hit squads.’

The search at the accused’s residencs also yielded digital devices and several incriminating documents.