PFI’s Mohammed Ali infamous for chopping Prof T.J Joseph’s hand arrested by NIA in the Kerala gold smuggling case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six persons including Mohammed Ali, belonging to the radical Muslim fundamentalist Islamic group Popular Front of India (PFI) during its investigation in Kerala Gold Smuggling case, Swarajya reported.

Mohammed Ali is among those charge-sheeted in the brutal attack on Prof T.J Joseph in 2010 and his hand was cut off at the wrist as punishment on allegation of blasphemy.

After the incident, the Christian minority institution suspended Joseph for ‘hurting’ the religious sentiments of a community. Mohammed Ali and the other attackers were charge-sheeted by Kerala Police in 2011 only to be acquitted later.

On August 1, Mohammed Ali and Muvattupuzha resident Muhammad Ebrahim were arrested by NIA officers in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. At present, the NIA has arrested 10 persons in the gold smuggling case.

During search operations, the NIA found 2 hard disks, 1 tablet PC, 8 mobile phones, 6 SIM cards, 1 Digital Video Recorder and 5 DVDs. Besides various documents including bank passbooks, credit/ debit cards, travel documents and identity documents of the accused have also been gathered as evidence.