NIA Court extends remand of 3 associated with PFI till Oct 10, sends 16 others to judicial custody

New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court of Delhi on Thursday extended the remand of three accused associated with Popular Front of India (PFI) by four more days.

New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court of Delhi on Thursday extended the remand of three accused associated with Popular Front of India (PFI) by four more days. The other 16 accused have been remanded to judicial custody.

All accused were produced under heavy security before the Court as their remand was granted by the same court earlier. The NIA Judge on Thursday extended the remand of the three accused Shahid Nasir,Jaseer KP, Mohammed Yousuf by four days after noting down the submission made by NIA counsel.

The court sent the other 16 accused into judicial custody for 30 days. Recently in a major crackdown against PFI, over 106 PFI members have been arrested in multiple raids carried out by a joint team of NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police across 11 states.

NIA in a press statement about the searches and arrests across India on the Popular Front of India (PFI) stated that the searches were jointly conducted by the ED, NIA and the State Police forces across India. NIA carried out searches in 93 locations of 15 states of India viz Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar and Manipur.

These searches were conducted at the houses and offices of the top PFI leaders and members in connection with 5 cases registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in the funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations. NIA also said that a large number of criminal cases had been registered by different states over the last few years against the PFI and its leaders and members for their involvement in many violent acts.

Criminal violent acts carried out by PFI such as chopping off the hand of a college professor, cold-blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths, collection of explosives to target prominent people and places, support to Islamic State and destruction of public property have had a demonstrative effect of striking terror in the minds of the citizens. A total of 106 Popular Front of India (PFI) cadres were arrested on Thursday in a joint operation conducted by the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate and state police forces across 11 states in the country's multiple locations, according to the sources.

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement through a recently issued notification declaring "the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect". Alongwith PFI, the ban was also imposed on its fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an "unlawful association".

As per the inputs received by both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), "the PFI has been raising and collecting substantial funds from abroad in a well-organized and structured manner". It also came to the knowledge of the Central agencies that the "PFI was raising funds abroad and their transfer to India through clandestine and illegal channels". (ANI)

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