LUCKNOW: A mob surrounded a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials when they attempted to take Mufti Khalid Nadvi for interrogationin Jhansi on Thursday. The move came after an eight-hour search of his residence in connection with allegations of online radicalisation of youth and allegedly receiving foreign funding.
As the NIA team tried to take Nadvi away, the local Muslims gathered outside the cleric's house in response to an announcement made from the local mosque to resist the NIA move. After the involvement of senior police and administrative officials Nadvi was taken by NIA for questioning at the police lines.
The searches at Nadvi’s house were part of an NIA operation spread across 26 locations in Assam, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir. The searches were being conducted in connection with the recent arrest of a cleric in Delhi by the NIA on charges of heading a radicalisation programme being run by banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
As per the sources, NIA officials accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team raided Mufti Khalid Ansari Nadvi’s house in Super Colony at 2.30 am on Thursday in connection with a foreign funding and money laundering case in Jhansi district.
It was also suspected that Nadvi had been involved in spreading terror propaganda of Jaish-e-Mohammed and the radicalisation of people.
As per the Jhansi police sources, when the authorities were taking him along for further interrogation, a large number of local Muslim residents gathered in front of his house. Mufti Khalid Ansari Nadvi is the nephew of the city Qazi. He was questioned at his house for about eight hours before being taken to police lines for further grilling.
The crowd grew and the situation deteriorated. The NIA team tried to reason with the mob but the latter started to argue And a few even got enraged. The mob of at least 200 people eventually managed to rescue Nadvi. The incident took place at Saleem Bagh Ali Gol Khirki in the Kotwali police station area.
The sources said that Nadvi delivered virtual lessons to children and people from India and abroad joined his online classes. According to sources, the agency had received information about his foreign contacts and that he received financing from outside the country through these activities.
“Around 2:30-3 in the night, people from NIA Delhi knocked on my door. I did not open out of fear because I was alone and it was late at night. They checked the entire house thoroughly and they did not find anything. They took whichever books they found suspicious. They took documents like a Passport, and an old VISA to Saudi Arabia. They checked my phone and enquired about my WhatsApp contacts and groups. They asked about Muhammad Ilyas Ghuman. I run an online Islamic coaching centre where I teach Indian and NRI students. They checked my bank statements as well,” Nadvi said while talking to media persons.
He added, “I have been doing online for 11 years. My fee ranges from 50 rupees to 1500 rupees. The team asked me about foreign funding. They asked if I transferred money abroad which I denied. They were saying that they would take me to the police line for interrogation.”
On the other hand, the NIA team confiscated several important documents and electronic devices from his house, which will be sent to Delhi for investigation. The NIA later released a statement which said that no arrest had been made following Thursday's raids.