NIA arrests two key accused persons in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested Bava Bahrudeen, alias Mannai Bava, and Kabeer Ahmed Aliyar, who had allegedly conspired with others to propagate the ideologies of the Tamil Nadu Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), a banned organisation.

The accused persons were conducting secret ‘Bayaan’ and an exhibition to showcase the military might of Islamic nations that would be invited to overthrow the Indian government through a violent jihad and war, the NIA said in a release.

The NIA, which had registered a case against six accused persons, had found during investigations that the accused were influenced by extremist, radical, and fundamental ideology of the HuT, an international pan-Islamist and fundamentalist organisation working to establish an Islamic caliphate and enforce the constitution written by the outfit’s founder, Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani.

In October 2024, the Government of India issued a gazette notification banning the HuT and all its manifestations and front organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The NIA is continuing its investigation to unearth the role of the co-conspirators, international links, and the funding of the HuT, the release said.

An NIA team on Monday searched the house of Bava Bahrudeen at Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district for several hours and arrested him later.