The Intelligence Bureau could have easily overlooked Margub Ahmed Danish alias Tahir as one of the bespectacled educated youths who was fond of educating poor students from the locality, but they stumbled upon a minefield of information after nabbing him.
Born in Phulwari Sharif, Bihar, Tahir’s family originally belonged to the Gaya district of the state. According to Phulwari Sharif police, he has his extended family settled in Pakistan’s Karachi, so it was not unusual to have Pakistani links.
But here things proved to be more serious. The ATS was tracking him for some time and all information about him proved to be correct, which made this case grave, having wider reach and stronger implications.
Phulwari Sharif, a Patna suburb, has a population of 1,20,000, out of which, approximately 60% are Muslim, engaged in odd jobs like running butcher shops and mechanical shops. Youth also regularly travel to the Middle East to earn extra money.
PFI
After arrest, on July 14, Margub was brought to the Phulwari Sharif police station with his mobile phone. The data collected from his mobile phone was shocking.
The phone number he was using had been used to operate media groups found to be engaged in alleged anti-national activities, allegedly aimed at mobilising youth to wage war against India.
On February 27, 2022, he formed a group called Ghazwa-E-Hind, having 10 members, out of whom, eight were from Bangladesh, one was from Pakistan and he was one of the admins.
“Ghazwa-E-Hind” implies the final battle or expedition against India, in which India will supposedly be defeated and united with Pakistan, thus bringing India under Islamic rule.
The group icon used by him was a map of undivided India and Pakistan’s flag hoisted on it, and he was allegedly urging Muslims in Bangladesh to prepare for “the conquest of India”.
The group claims to provide information about Ghazwa-e-Hind and raise voices against “the persecution of all Muslims in the world”. On May 18, he posted a picture of a black and white flag, with “Aljihad” written in Urdu.
On June 22, 2022, Tahir posted a message in the group, claiming he had been working for the ISI for the last five years and promoting Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Margub Ahmed Danish alias Tahir also has a Facebook account, which has approximately 2,000 followers.
The agenda of the group is to boycott India, its products and traditions worldwide.
Phulwari Sharif police recently exposed a wider plan on how PFI operatives were all set to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to celebrate the centenary program at Bihar Legislative Assembly. The IB tipped off the Bihar Police about the plan.
Bihar Police have named 26 individuals in the FIR, but the number could be higher as ATS and police teams conduct state-wide raids in almost half a dozen towns like Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Araria and Katihar.
The PFI’s political wing SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) had contested more than 10 seats in Bihar elections 2020, but did not fare well.
Tahir had reportedly appealed to voters not to waste their votes on Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, and instead prepare for “Jihad in 2023”.
Sources in the police headquarters indicated that given the serious nature of the case, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) could soon take over the investigation.