Key PFI operative held in Bihar

Bihar police on Wednesday arrested a key accused in the PFI Phulwari Sharif module case wanted by the National Investigating Agency (NIA). According to the police headquarters here, Yakoob Khan, alias Sultan, was nabbed in Uttar Govindara village in East Champaran district and handed over to the NIA.
He was arrested in a joint operation by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the district police. Khan, who belongs to a nearby village, has been on the NIA’s radar ever since the PFI’s network was busted in the Bihar capital’s Phulwari Sharif locality last year, shortly before a ban was imposed on the organisation. According to the NIA, Khan worked as a physical trainer but was allegedly involved in posting videos on social media “aimed at spreading communal tensions.” The NIA has also accused him of involvement in a conspiracy to “execute a targeted killing”, conducting a recce, and procuring weapons.
Bihar police claimed that with Khan’s arrest, they had succeeded in catching three of the six accused about whom inputs were received from the NIA. In March, Irshad Alam was nabbed in East Champaran, while Mumtaz Ansari, belonging to the same district, was caught with the help of local police in Tamil Nadu last month.