National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers arrested Popular Front of India (PFI) terrorist Bhimantavida Jafar from Kannur earlier this month. All PFI terrorists accused in the former RSS Palakkad district Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh A. Sreenivasan murder case were provided weapons training by Jafar. He is also the main accused in the hand amputation case of Prof. T.J. Joseph in early July 2010.
Jafar, the ‘Master Trainer’ of PFI, gave weapons training to the accused who were directly involved in the murder. The weapons training took place at Green Valley Academy in Manjeri, Malappuram. In July 2023, HinduPost reported that the NIA attached Green Valley Academy, which it termed as one of the “largest arms and martial training” facilities owned by the PFI in Kerala.
Jafar, who was arrested from Kannur, has been in NIA custody for ten days. Disturbing facts and information were obtained during the detailed interrogation.
Jafar confessed that PFI had killer squads, and they were targeting RSS leaders. The terrorist admitted that he had visited various parts of Kerala as a weapons trainer. Jafar also revealed to the investigation team that weapons trainers led the killer squads.
Sreenivasan was killed on 16 April 2022. The assailants hacked Srinivasan to death inside his second-hand two-wheeler business in Melamuri, right in the middle of Palakkad city.
The NIA investigation found that the PFI centres, including Green Valley, are centres of religious terrorism. Training was done by attacking animals. Earlier, the NIA had directed the state police to strengthen inspection and surveillance at PFI centres like Greenvalley, but the state was not ready to do so. Jaffer’s statement indicates that the state government used the police force to protect such groups allegedly.
Jafar is also an accused in a case registered in 2022 for conspiring to establish an Islamic state in Bharat by 2047. Jafar was ‘absconding’ and was caught by the NIA team from his house in Kannur. Jafar is the 59th person to be arrested in the case. The NIA has filed a charge sheet against a total of 60 people.
The NIA spokesman said that he had given weapons training to the hit squads of the PFI. These were the groups that led the attacks as per the instructions of the leadership. He added that Jafar is an accused in several cases of attempted murder.
