NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple places across Tamil Nadu.
The raids were part of the agency’s probe into a case linked to an “anti-election campaign” promoted by the Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist organisation aiming to establish Islamic rule in India, officials said.
The officials said that sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the houses of 11 suspects in Chennai, Tambaram and Kanyakumari districts of the state, and seized incriminating materials, including digital devices, unaccounted cash and literature belonging to the Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
They said that the raids were conducted as part of a case related to “causing and creating disaffection” through various social media handles and “campaigning against the exercise of the electoral franchise”, which is deemed by the Hizb-ut-Tahrir as un-Islamic or ‘Haram’.
According to the officials, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a fundamentalist terror organisation engaged in instigating its followers to overthrow the lawfully established democratic government through divisive actions.
“Hameed Hussain, a key conspirator in the case, had collaborated with five other accused to hold secret meetings to promote the anti-India ideology of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir,” a senior NIA official said.
“The investigations by the NIA in the case have so far revealed that the accused, along with several groups of people, had carried out campaigns throughout Tamil Nadu to establish Khilafah or Islamic rule in India, and had been involved in activities aimed at dividing the people and disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” the official said.
Another official said that the NIA took over the probe from the Chennai City Police in July this year and the evidence collected during the raids is being examined by the investigating team.