NIA slaps UAPA in Bihar’s Phulwari module case

New Delhi, July 23: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has slapped the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after taking over the Phulwari Sharif module case in Bihar. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had transferred the case to the NIA on Friday.

Earlier this month, the Bihar police busted a terror module indulging in anti-India activities" by arresting two people, including a retired Jharkhand police officer, with alleged links to extremist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

The duo was arrested in Phulwari Sharif area of Patna.

"The arrested persons have been identified as Mohammad Jallauddin, a retired Jharkhand police officer, and Athar Parvez. They have links with PFI. Jallauddin was earlier associated with Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)," Phulwari Sharif Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manish Kumar said, according to news agency PTI.

"They were teaching locals how to use swords and knives and also instigating them for communal violence. An investigation has revealed that people from other states were visiting them in Patna. Those visitors used to change their names while staying in hotels in the Bihar capital to conceal their identities," he said.

Several objectionable documents pertaining to Islamic extremism have been seized from their possession, the ASP said.

Parvez's younger brother had been jailed in 2001-02 in connection with several bomb blast cases in Bihar after SIMI was banned, Kumar said.

"During the investigation, it was found that Parvez was in constant touch with members of several overseas organisations and was raising foreign funds to carry out anti-India activities.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also been engaged by the police for further probe pertaining to their money trail," he added.