Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
PFI member Abdul Salim was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Andhra Pradesh in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru on March 1.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “NIA Abdul Salim Bengaluru blast”, which led us to multiple reports, seen here, here, here and here, dated March 3, 2024, stating that the NIA arrested an accused who was on the run for almost two years and linked to the Nizamabad PFI case involving an anti-India conspiracy by the banned outfit to carry out acts of terror and violence.
“The accused arrested by the NIA, was identified as Abdul Salim, the state secretary for the PFI Telangana north region. Abdul SaIim was accused no.15 in the case originally registered by the state police at the Nizamabad police station in July 2022 and the case investigation was subsequently taken over by the NIA in August of the same year,” read the Times of India report.
What is the Nizamabad PFI case?
Abdul Salim was allegedly recruiting Muslim youths and sending them to terror training camps as part of the Popular Front of India’s conspiracy to make India an Islamic nation by 2047. A case was registered in Nizamabad in July 2022 and a reward of ₹2 lakh was announced for information about Salim.
Newschecker contacted Bengaluru police commissioner SP Dayananda, who said it is not true that NIA has arrested a person in Andhra Pradesh in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case.
We then contacted Kannada Prabha’s crime reporter, Girish Madenahalli, who clarified that the NIA has arrested a person from Andhra Pradesh in connection with an old case. Prajavani’s crime reporter, Santosh Jigalikoppa, too, confirmed to us that the arrest is related to a different case.
Also, the NIA had on March 6, 2024, issued a ‘Wanted’ poster, announcing a ₹10 lakh cash reward for any information on the bomber in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case of Bengaluru, which further confirms that the suspect has not yet been arrested.
Result: False
Source
Times of India report, March 3, 2024
Deccan Herald report, March 2, 2024
Tweet, NIA,March 6, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
