On July 24, Bihar Police revealed that Marguv Ahmad Danish, the accused in the Phulwari Sharif terror module case, had received funds in the form of cryptocurrency from Qatar. Danish was arrested by Bihar Police on July 15 for his alleged involvement in creating a terror module in Phulwari Sharif. He was operating two WhatsApp groups named ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ and ‘Direct Jihad’ to propagate anti-India activities.
A Police Officer was quoted by The New Indian Express as saying, “Evidence, collected during the investigation, revealed that Danish received funds in the form of cryptocurrency from Qatar-based organisation Alfalhi.” National Investigation Agency is probing the case. The Officer further added, “Investigations have also revealed that Danish was connected with the Pakistan-based fundamentalist group, Tehriq-e-Labbaiq. He was also in regular touch with Faizan, a Pakistani national.”
During the investigation, the Police found that he had sent messages disrespecting the national flag and symbol of the group (Ghazwa-e-Hind). The terror module was unearthed by the Police on July 14. Three people were arrested by the Police in this matter. On July 20, NIA carried out searches on several locations in Jamia Maria Niswa Madrasa, which is located in the East Champaran district of Bihar. They arrested a teacher named Asghar Ali in connection to the case. NIA took over the case formally on July 23.
Terror module case in Bihar
In the last few weeks, Bihar Police busted several terror modules where youth were getting trained to use arms. The training was provided by the dubious Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). Reports suggest that they had opened several training centres in 12 districts of Bihar. Several raids took place at Patna, Muzaffarpur, Purnia, East Champaran, Motihari, Saran, Darbhanga, and other districts.
To note, one of the documents named ‘India vision 2047’ that has been recovered by the Bihar Police talks about ‘subjugating coward majority community’ and bringing back the glory. According to the Police, the document is very objectionable and talks about the ‘rule of Islam in India’. “PFI is sure that even if 10% of whole Muslim population gather behind it, it will conquer frightened majority group and restore the glory,” Police said, quoting an excerpt from the eight-page long document titled ‘India Vision 2047’.
According to the Police, the document further states that in the event of a full-fledged conflict with the state, apart from relying on cadres, they would need help from their friendly Islamic countries. “In recent years, PFI has built cordial connections with Turkey, a flag-bearer of Islam,” the police official quoted from the document.
Finance Minister had warned against the use of cryptocurrency in terror funding
In April 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had warned that cryptocurrency could be used to fund terrorism in India. She had said that money laundering and terror funding are the biggest concerns when it comes to crypto transactions. Speaking at a seminar on Digital Currency titled “Money at a Crossroad: Public or Private Digital Money?” on April 18, she talked about the need for collective monitoring of crypto transactions to ensure the cryptos are not used to fund terror or for money laundering.
