India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on early Thursday conducted raids on Popular Front of India (PFI) offices and residences of its state and district-level workers in multiple locations across 11 states on charges of terror funding.
The federal agencies along with state police arrested more than 100 people linked to the organization in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and several other states. In particular, PFI chairman O.M.A. Salam, Kerala PFI chief C.P. Mohammed Basheer, national secretary V.P. Nazarudheen, and national council member P. Koya have been taken into custody.
According to media reports, the crackdown on the PFI is the largest-ever probe to date and the searches are carried out against those allegedly involved in funding terror activities, organizing training camps, and recruiting citizens for proscribed groups.
Meanwhile, the raids have sparked social unrest, with PFI and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) workers holding protests in several parts of the country.
In a statement, the PFI condemned what it called the "fascist regime's moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices."
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Indian anti-terror agency charged four PFI functionaries under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after conducting searches at 38 locations in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to the agency, the accused had organized training to commit terrorist attacks and promote enmity between religious communities.
Notably, the NIA in 2017 submitted a dossier to the federal Ministry of Home Affairs detailing four terror cases, in which PFI members were convicted under UAPA and seeking a ban on the organization. In its dossier, the NIA suggested that the PFI has been imposing religious orthodoxy on Muslims and carrying out "forceful conversions,” while officially claiming to be the guardians of Islamic values.