New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India on Tuesday conducted raids at 17 locations across the country of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with a militancy case, IANS reported.
The report quoting sources, the searches that began early this morning were on in the states of Bihar, UP, Punjab and Goa. An official communication by the probe agency is awaited.
The Ministry of Home Affairs India had on September 28 declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its eight affiliates “unlawful associations” for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The ban came shortly after the NIA, ED and various state police forces carried out a coordinated nationwide crackdown on the PFI, the report said.
In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh government sought a ban on the PFI for its alleged involvement in anti-CAA protests in parts of the state.
The government of India’s ban on the PFI was imposed on several counts centred on terror, including terror funding and training. Consequently, hundreds of its leaders have been apprehended in the past few days.
As per the sources, the specific reasons for the GoI to ban the outfit pertains to the PFI’s efforts to allegedly “radicalise” vulnerable people of a community, its links to other militancy organisations, including the IS, and more significantly, posing a threat to India’s internal security by way of involvement in major violent incidents that point at the PFI.
