Chennai man wanted in espionage case involving Pak, Lankan nationals arrested by NIA
In 2014, Rafi, a resident of Vyasarpadi, was arrested by the CB-CID with a gun and counterfeit currency notes with a face value of more than Rs 12 lakh.
NIA representative image; Accused Nuruddin alias Rafi
CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested a proclaimed offender, a native of Chennai, who had absconded after jumping bail in the Hyderabad espionage case involving a Sri Lankan and a Pakistani national.
Nuruddin alias Rafi, who carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh, was nabbed from the Rajiv Nagar area of Mysuru in Karnataka by an NIA team on Wednesday. After nabbing him, officials also searched his house, from where they seized several materials, including mobile phones, laptop, pen drives, drone, etc.
In 2014, Rafi, a resident of Vyasarpadi, was arrested by the CB-CID with a gun and counterfeit currency notes with a face value of more than Rs 12 lakh.
When he had failed to appear before the NIA Special Court, Chennai, after being released on bail under stringent conditions in August 2023, a non-bailable warrant was issued earlier against him. The court had declared him a proclaimed offender on May, 7, 2024.
The case relates to an alleged terror conspiracy by Sri Lankan national Muhammed Sakir Hussaien and Amir Zubair Siddique, a Pakistani national employed at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo.
They allegedly conspired to carry out explosions at the US Consulate in Chennai and Israel Embassy in Bengaluru in 2014. NIA investigations revealed that Rafi, a counterfeit currency runner, was involved in financing the anti-national espionage activities through high-quality fake Indian currency notes at the behest of the accused Pakistani national.
The trial against Rafi, which was stalled after he had absconded, would now resume, said an NIA press note.
