New Delhi: As many as 106 leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) have been arrested during raids conducted by a joint team of the NIA, ED and State Police Forces in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country on Thursday. Official sources said that the maximum number of arrests were made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2).
"In the largest ever investigation till date, the searches are taking place at the premises of those allegedly involved in terror funding, organizing training camps, and radicalizing people to join proscribed organizations," they added.
The NIA has also sealed the Telangana PFI head office in Chandrayangutta, Hyderabad in connection with a case registered earlier by it. NIA, ED, Paramilitary along with local police sealed the PFI office, sources said. "We strongly protest the fascist regime's moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices," the outfit said in a statement.
The raids were conducted in Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and many more states, said sources. NIA earlier this month also raided 40 places in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh in a PFI case and detained four persons.
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The agency had then conducted searches at 38 locations in Telangana (23 in Nizamabad, four in Hyderabad, seven in Jagityal, two in Nirmal, one each in Adilabad and Karimnagar districts) and at two locations in Andhra Pradesh (one each in Kurnool and Nellore districts) in the case relating to Abdul Khader of Nizamabad district in Telangana and 26 other persons.
In the operation, NIA had seized incriminating materials, including digital devices, documents, two daggers and Rs 8,31,500 cash. As per NIA, the accused were "organizing camps for imparting training to commit terrorist acts and to promote enmity between different groups on the basis of religion".
The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 - the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them.
Now the PFI claims it has units in 22 states. Its growth is phenomenal, admit intelligence agencies, saying it successfully exploited a growing vacuum in the community by donning the role of a saviour. The successful portrayal of the image helps PFI to mobilise funds, especially from the rich middle-eastern countries.
The PFI had its headquarters in Kozhikode earlier, but after broadening of its base, it was shifted to Delhi. PFI's state president Nasaruddin Elamarom is one of the founding leaders of the outfit. Its all-India president E Abubaker also hails from Kerala. The PFI describes itself as a neo-social movement committed to empowering people belonging to minority communities, Dalits and other weaker sections of society. (with Agency inputs)
