In a fresh round of raids, more than 100 members and associates of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were taken into custody in eight states across the country on Tuesday, bringing the total to 200 following similar raids last week.
As per media reports, the raids targeted top PFI officers and their associates in the states of Karnataka, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and came following the gathering of evidence during a similar crackdown last Thursday.
Most arrests were made in Karnakata, where more than 70 members linked with the Islamic group were detained, while more than 40 were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, media reports said citing police forces. In Delhi, over 30 people linked with PFI have been held and more than 20 have been arrested in Madhya Pradesh and Assam, while at least 15 have been arrested in Gujarat.
All PFI members have been accused of promoting enmity between communities.
The residences of PFI functionaries were likewise raided in six districts of Karnataka, and PFI district president of Vijayapura Ashfaq Jamakhandi was also taken into police custody for protesting the crackdown and trying to incite communal tensions in the region.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, raids were carried out in Malegaon, Aurangabad, Nanded, Solapur, Jalna, and Parbhani by the NIA, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, and local police.
Similarly, in Delhi, police and federal agencies conducted joint raids in Nizamuddin, Shaheen Bagh and Okhla areas. The police have also banned public gatherings in Okhla, while the Jamia Millia Islamia University has asked teachers and students not to assemble in or around campus.
The development came days after India’s anti-terror agency and economic intelligence agency initiated nationwide searches of top PFI functionaries as part of “Operation Octopus” on September 22. More than 100 PFI members were arrested from at least 93 locations in 15 states, triggering protests by PFI sympathizers in different parts of the country.