NIA files charges against terror outfit leader

Chennai: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against a top leader of the banned terror outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), who was arrested on charges of inciting violence and promoting secessionist ideology in India.

The accused, Faizul Hussain, was charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 34, 120B, 153A, and 153B, as well as Sections 13(1) and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The chargesheet was submitted to the NIA Special Court in Poonamallee, Chennai. Hussain is the seventh person to be charged so far in what is known as the Hameed Hussain HuT case.

NIA said Hussain and his associates conducted meetings under the guise of discussions at the ‘Modern Essential Education Trust (MEET) Hall', a rented facility in Royapettah, Chennai. The venue was used to propagate extremist ideologies and disseminate anti-national content through social media platforms, inciting communal discord and promoting secessionism, it said. Hussain actively advocated separation of Kashmir from India and called for military intervention by Pakistan, the agency said. His actions were aimed at overthrowing India's constitutional democracy and implementing HuT's draft Islamic constitution, originally authored by the group's founder, Sheikh Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani.

Hussain, who held the position of 'Nakib/Amir' (head) of HuT in Tamil Nadu, was arrested in Oct last year on charges of radicalising Muslim youth and promoting the extremist ideology of HuT, which aims to establish an Islamic Caliphate in India.

The case was initially handled by the state police before being transferred to the NIA in July 2024. The agency continues to investigate the larger network of individuals involved in propagating the banned organisation's extremist agenda.