Tamil Nadu: NIA Conducts Raid At 10 Locations, Arrests 2 Individuals For 'Radicalising' Youth

NIA arrested two men linked to Hizb-ut-Tahrir for radicalising youngsters in Tamil Nadu. They conducted secret classes to promote extremist ideologies and convert India into an Islamic State.

Officials during a raid by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in Madurai, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024.

Source : PTI

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two men on Sunday, linked with the international pan-Islamist organisation 'Hizb-ut-Tahrir' for allegedly radicalising youngsters in Tamil Nadu. Both the arrested men have been recognised as Abdul Rehman alias Abdul Rahman and Mujibur Rehman alias Mujibur Rahman Altham Sahib, from Thanjavur district, according to the NIA.

The two individuals were arrested after thorough searches at 10 different locations across five districts in the southern state, and are affiliated with Hizb-ut-Tahrir. This international pan-Islamist and fundamentalist organisation aims to re-establish the Islamic caliphate and implement the constitution created by its founder, Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani, as per the report of NIA.

"NIA investigations revealed that they were involved in conducting secret classes to radicalise youth in extremist ideologies, promoting democracy and the Indian Constitution, law and judiciary etc. as anti-Islamic," the statement said, PTI reported.

The trainees were directed that India had become "Darul Kufr" (the land of non-believers) and it was their obligation to convert it into "Darul Islam" by creating an Islamic State through violent jihad, the agency said.

"Today's searches led to the seizure of digital devices (mobile phones, laptops, SIM cards, and memory cards) and several incriminating documents, including books and printouts containing the ideology of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Khilafa, Islamic State and proposed Khilafa government and its funding structures, etc.," it added. 

NIA Raids After 2021 Arrest

As per the report of Hindustan Times, NIA conducted raids after the 2021 arrest of an individual linked to the Madurai Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) module case in Tamil Nadu. The case was initially registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 13(1)(b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, at the Thideer Nagar police station in Madurai.

The main suspect, Mohammed Iqbal, used his Facebook account, "Thoonga Vizhigal Rendu is in Kazimar Street," to post inciting content that invoked communal disharmony among different religious groups.

In March 2022, the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet against two additional accused individuals: Bava Bahrudeen alias Mannai Bava from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district, and Ziyavudeen Baqavi from Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district.

The investigation disclosed that the accused were HuT members involved in radicalising and recruiting vulnerable youth to establish an Islamic State, promoting a draft constitution by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani, HuT's founder.

Bava Bahrudeen and Ziyavudeen Baqavi organised recruitment meetings and secret classes to indoctrinate and motivate youth towards establishing an Islamic State by overthrowing the Indian government. They also conspired to set up new cells in various districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, using social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube to propagate HuT's ideology.