Kannur terror camp case: NIA arrests absconding PFI activist

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday stated that it has arrested the accused, who was absconding, after his involvement in the Kannur arms training case in 2013.

The person arrested has been identified as Azharudeen aka Azhar, 24, a resident of Narath in Kannur. The case pertains to some Popular Front of India (PFI) activists secretly running arms training camps in the area.

Azhar was arrested on Monday night, an NIA official revealed. The youth is being questioned in Kochi and would be produced before the trial court later on Tuesday.

The NIA said the arrest involved the April 2013 case, when a secret training camp was organised by the Thanal Foundation Trust inside one of its buildings at Narath to impart training in the usage of swords and explosives.

The case was first registered by the state police, before it was taken over by the NIA in August 2013.

In January 2016, an NIA special court in Kochi found 21 PFI activists guilty of the charges including criminal conspiracy, membership of unlawful assembly, possession of arms and explosive substances, inciting communal disharmony, assertions prejudicial to national integration besides organising the terrorist camp.

The court ordered seven-year jail for main accused and Sivapuram resident Abdul Aziz (41) and five-year jail terms for the 20 other convicts.

(Representational image)