In the largest terror operation of its kind, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out wide nationwide searches, on 22 September, at the premises of people involved in terror-related activities. Nearly 100 people, including top leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI), have been arrested following midnight raids.
The searches were carried out by the National Investigation Agency and Enforcement Directorate at several locations across 13 states including Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
In what is being termed the “largest ever investigation process till date”, sources in the NIA said that searches were conducted in the residential and official premises of people involved in terror funding, organizing training camps, and radicalizing people to join proscribed organizations.
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).
According to the charge sheet filed by the ED, PFI has formed District Executive Committee in UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other places to raise funds. Targets are given to individuals to collect cash and transfer the same through Hawala or camouflaged as genuine business transactions.
The ED during the investigation analyzed more than 600 domestic contributors and their bank accounts and also looked at accounts of more than 2,600 beneficiaries. The agency has found that many of these accounts were bogus and people on the ground were not found during physical verification, the agency stated.
One of the beneficiaries of this money was Anshad Baseudeen. He was arrested by UP ATS with IEDs, a pistol, and live cartridges. PFI has transferred Rs. 3.5 lakh from the account of PFI. This shows PFI was involved in terror activities, the ED stated in the charge sheet.
The NIA had earlier carried out searches at over 40 locations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana linked to PFI, following which four people were detained. Incriminating materials, including digital devices, documents, two daggers, and cash worth over Rs 8 lakh had been seized.
Meanwhile, PFI members staged protests in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka against the arrests.
“The raids are taking place at the homes of national, state, and local leaders of PFI. The state committee office is also being raided. We strongly protest the fascist regime’s moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices,” the PFI said in a statement.
Shocking revelation of the Popular Front of India (PFI) planned to liquidate several RSS-BJP leaders came to light when Special Investigation Team arrested PFI activist Sirajjuddin on September 17 in connection with the brutal murder of RSS leader Srinivasan on April 16. A list of 12 RSS-BJP leaders to be assassinated from Malappuram was seized from him. Several incriminating documents were also seized from him, a Malappuram native.
