Patna top cop clears air on likening PFI and RSS
“The documents seized on Thursday from PFI activists mention that their training was on the pattern of RSS. The document has been submitted as exhibit. The same was told to media, when specifically asked about the modus operandi. It was only a reproduction of the facts found during investigation and duly documented, not an observation or opinion. It was never meant to hurt anybody,” he said.
Patna’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) M S Dhillon, who is facing a lot of flak from the BJP for drawing parallels between RSS and Popular Front of India (PFI) training, on Friday clarified he was only quoting from the documents seized from the arrested PFI members.
“The documents seized on Thursday from PFI activists mention that their training was on the pattern of RSS. The document has been submitted as exhibit. The same was told to media, when specifically asked about the modus operandi. It was only a reproduction of the facts found during investigation and duly documented, not an observation or opinion. It was never meant to hurt anybody,” he said.
The Patna police have claimed to have busted a terror module with three arrests made on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, one more suspect, identified as Margoob Ahmad Danish, was arrested by police on Thursday evening from Phulwari Sharif.
Police said they had recovered a mobile phone from his possession which had incriminating evidence. “The youth indulged in communal and anti-national activity using technology in consultation with foreign forces. Two WhatsApp groups with the name Gazwa-E-Hind, one having 181 members and another with 10 members, were also found in his mobile phone,” said Dhillon.
Gazwa-E-Hind was formed in Jammu & Kashmir in 2017. Its founder Zakir Moosa was killed by security forces in an encounter in 2019.
The larger WhatsApp group icon has India’s map fully coloured in green, with Pakistan’s flag in centre. Below the icon, it is written “I urge the Muslims of Bangladesh to prepare for the conquest of India”, in English and Bangla, according to police.
The second group has eight members from Bangladesh and one from Pakistan, while the first group has members from India, Yemen, Pakistan and Gulf countries. “What is more, the group was formed by a Pakistan national Faizan, while Danish claims to be the administrator of both the groups,” the SSP said.
Dhillon said Danish worked in United Arab Emirates from 2006 to 2020 and returned to India during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“The WhatsApp groups was being used to spread messages about Kashmir, provocative speeches and sensitive slogans. It appeared to be working with the sole objective of radicalising youth with tailor-made messages,” he said.
The arrested youth’s family lives in Gaya, while he himself was born in Phulwarisharif in 1986. “Some members of the youth’s family also live in Karachi,” said the police.
The SSP said three more suspects were detained for interrogation but later released.
