The agency, in consonance with the Enforcement Directorate, has raided the houses of national, state and local leadership of PFI.
In what is billed as its largest operation ever, the National Investigation Agency has launched search operations across 10 states against operatives of several suspicious groups, mainly the Popular Front of India, for supporting terrorism. The raids are taking place at the premises of those suspected of being involved in organizing terror training camps, radicalizing youths, and funding other terror activities.
The agency, in consonance with the Enforcement Directorate, has raided the houses of national, state and local leadership of PFI, officials said. Reacting to the raids, PFI said the "fascist regime" had used agencies to silence those dissenting against it.
In Tamil Nadu, NIA has conducted searches at the houses of PFI office bearers in Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Ramnad, Dindugal, Theni and Thenkasi. The Chennai PFI State Head office at Purasawakkam was also raided.
In Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, NIA and ED searched the houses of PFI's state and district level leaders, including PFI chairman OMA Salem. The raids were conducted in Manjeri and Malappuram districts.
Over 100 PFI operatives have been arrested.
The maximum number of arrests were made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Andhra Pradesh (5), Assam (9), Delhi (3), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry (3), Tamil Nadu (10), Uttar Pradesh (8) and Rajasthan (2).
The ED has been investigating the PFI's alleged "financial links" on charges of fuelling the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the country, the 2020 Delhi riots, alleged conspiracy in Hathras (a district in Uttar Pradesh) over alleged gang-rape and death of a Dalit woman, and a few other instances.
The Popular Front of India was formed in 2006 in Kerala and is headquartered in Delhi.
The probe agency has filed two charge sheets against PFI and its office-bearers before a special PMLA court in Lucknow.
In February last year, the ED filed its first charge sheet against PFI and its student-wing Campus Front of India (CFI) on money laundering charges, claiming its members wanted to "incite communal riots and spread terror" in the aftermath of the Hathras gang rape case of 2020.
Those named in the charge sheet include K A Rauf Sherif, national general secretary of CFI and a member of PFI; Atikur Rahman, national treasurer of CFI; Masud Ahmed, Delhi-based general secretary of CFI; journalist "associated with PFI" Siddique Kappan; and Mohammed Alam, another CFI/PFI member.
With inputs from PTI
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