NIA raids PFI offices in ‘largest-ever investigation’, over 100 detained nationwide

Over a hundred activists and senior leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) have been apprehended in operations across eleven states. In a statewide sweep, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate, and the police in eleven states have detained over one hundred of the PFI's most senior leaders and functionaries. 22 individuals are from Kerala, 20 from Karnataka, 20 from Maharashtra, 10 from Tamil Nadu, 9 from Assam, and 8 from Uttar Pradesh. The arrests were made on a variety of allegations, including alleged financing of terrorism and money laundering. The NIA referred to it as the "biggest probe to date." Previously, on September 20, the PFI published a statement criticising the September 17 NIA raids in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It had declared the arrest of its "martial arts" master unfair and claimed that its members and sympathisers were being persecuted. These raids are part of the ongoing harassment of organisation members in the United States. In July, the Telangana Police Department summoned martial arts expert Abdul Khader for questioning. Later, he and two other innocent people were arrested in a bogus case,' the document stated.

ED commences an investigation

While the NIA has filed various charges against a number of PFI members, the ED has initiated investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently filed a supplementary chargesheet against two PFI leaders, Abdul Razaq Peediyakkal and Asharaf Khadir, alleging that they, along with other PFI leaders and members associated with overseas entities, were developing a residential project in Munnar, Kerala, for the purpose of money laundering. "Investigations revealed that 'criminal proceeds' in the form of unaccounted and unexplained cash as well as foreign monies were stashed in MVVP and presented as clean," according to an ED statement. The agency said that Mr. Peediyakkal, a longtime member of the PFI and its connected entities who had served as its divisional president in Kerala's Perumpadappu and Malappuram, was a prominent figure representing such organisations in the Gulf states. The ED further said that he actively participated in fund-raising for the PFI in India and overseas. "He wired approximately 34 lakh from the United Arab Emirates to the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), which is a front for the PFI. Similarly, he paid 2 lakh to M. K. Faizy, the president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political front of the PFI... he moved approximately 19 crore to India using underground/illegal routes, it was stated. Mr. Khadir, a member of the PFI Kerala State Executive Council (previously the PFI president of Ernakulam district), was also made an accused by the NIA in the 2010 Professor Joseph hand-chopping case, said the ED, alleging that: "he was the owner of Darbar restaurant in Abu Dhabi, which served as a money laundering front for the PFI... he did not disclose the fact that he owned Darbar restaurant to government authorities." In the supplemental prosecution case, the agency has found "criminal proceeds" totaling around 22 crore. In February of 2021, a chargesheet was filed against five PFI officeholders and its student arm, Campus Front of India.

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Disputes in Kerala

In Kerala, a tense situation developed as a large number of PFI groups demonstrated in opposition to the raids. The police have increased their presence on the street to prevent violence. The activists chanted slogans against the Central government and sat on the road in front of the PFI offices and leaders' homes, where raids were taking place. PFI national general secretary Nassarudeen Elamaram, Kerala State general secretary A. Abdul Sattar, former PFI national council member Karamana Ashraf Moulavi, former PFI chairperson E. Aboobacker, PFI State committee member Yahiya Thangal, and PFI district secretary Pathanamthitta Sadiq Ahmed, among others, were reportedly among those detained.

Raids in Coimbatore, Mangaluru

The NIA arrested A.S. Ismail, a member of the national executive committee, in Coimbatore during a search at the leader's residence in Karumbukai. A considerable number of PFI employees flocked to the location after learning about the NIA's search operation. The local police removed them to prevent conflicts with law and order. In Mangaluru, NIA investigators raided the offices of the PFI and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The search operation commenced at 6:00 a.m. from the PFI and SDPI offices on Nellikai Road in the city's centre. At the road's entrances, barricades were erected to restrict the movement of locals. Four locations in Pune were raided between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, while searches are ongoing in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Jalna, Kolhapur, Malegaon, Beed, Parbhani, and Nande. According to sources, violations of the IPC and UAPA have been reported in Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Nanded.

Terror funding

The officials stated that the searches are taking place at the residences of individuals involved in funding terrorism, organising training camps, and radicalising others to join outlawed groups. In a statement, the Popular Front of India (PFI) stated, "The raids are taking place at the houses of national, state, and local PFI officials. Additionally, the state committee office is being invaded. It stated, "We vehemently reject the fascist regime's decision to deploy agencies to crush dissenting voices." Around 2006, the PFI emerged on the political scene in Kerala and quickly spread to other states. Later, its national offices were relocated from Kozhikode to New Delhi. The PFI presents itself as a national movement for minority rights and the emancipation of backward class, Dalit, and tribal members of society. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala had consistently labelled the PFI an Islamist organisation and blamed it for multiple political murders in Kerala.

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