PFI conspiracy case: NIA raids multiple locations in Kerala, seizes devices, documents

Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple locations across Kerala as part of the probe into jihadi criminal conspiracy and acts of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). According to a press statement issued by the central agency, several incriminating materials were seized during the searches.

“A total of nine locations were searched across the state, leading to the seizure of several digital devices and documents, along with other incriminating materials linked to the PFI and its associate or affiliate organisations,” the NIA said in the statement.

The case, registered by the NIA in September 2022, pertains to PFI’s alleged criminal conspiracy and activities aimed at propagating violent jihad in India, with the objective of dismembering the country and establishing Islamic rule by 2047, the agency said.

NIA officials from Kochi reportedly launched the raids in the early hours of Wednesday at several locations in Thrissur, Malappuram, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts. In Thrissur, NIA sleuths searched the residence of an SDPI leader in Chavakkad and examined his digital devices and banking records. The leader is learnt to have earlier served as a district-level functionary of the PFI.

According to the NIA, PFI leaders and cadres had conspired to create communal divisions through the radicalisation of impressionable youth. Investigators also found that the outfit was actively involved in training such youth in handling weapons and raising funds to carry out acts of terror and violence as part of its alleged anti-India conspiracy.

The probe further revealed that the PFI had established various wings and units, including a ‘reporters’ wing’, ‘physical and arms training wing’, and ‘service teams’ or ‘hit teams’, to advance its agenda, the agency said.

The NIA stated that the banned outfit used its campuses, facilities, and infrastructure to impart arms training to selected cadres under the guise of physical education, yoga training, and similar activities. The ‘hit teams’ were allegedly trained for the elimination of specific ‘targets’.

“Investigation in the case is continuing as part of NIA’s committed efforts to combat all such jihadi activities in the country,” the statement added.

It was on September 28, 2022, the Government of India had declared PFI as unlawful association and banned it for five years under the UAPA Act.