NIA raids lead to PFI activists staging protests in Kerala

Kerala: The National Investigation Agency-led multi-agency raids on the offices, homes, and other locations of the Popular Front of India (PFI) on Thursday sparked protests from PFI members across Kerala over the organization’s alleged support for terrorism.

PFI employees staged protest marches to the locations of the raids as soon as word of the early morning searches spread and chanted anti-Centre and anti-investigating agency slogans. To improve security, however, central forces had already been stationed in all of these locations.

A PFI source here said that the protest marches were carried out in almost all districts including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thrissur. “The searches were mainly carried out in the offices of the state and district committees and the houses of its office-bearers. Though initially, we thought the Enforcement Directorate conducted the searches, it has become clear later that it was by the NIA,” the source told PTI.

As many as 14 office-bearers of the PFI, including national, state and district leaders, were taken into custody from the state by the central agencies, the source said. PFI state president C P Mohammed Basheer, national chairman O M A Salam, national secretary Nasaruddin Elamaram and others were among those in custody, the source added.

Kerala | NIA & ED conducting raids at the house of OMA Salam, PFI chairman in Manjeri, Malappuram district, PFI workers stage protest pic.twitter.com/9bXewpGJo6

— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2022

Senior leader Abdul Sathar alleged in Kozhikode the country-wide raids at the premises of the PFI were the latest example of state-sponsored terrorism under the BJP-led union government.

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