NIA RAIDS 25 PLACES ACROSS 3 STATES OVER PFI LINKS

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday carried out raids at 25 locations across three states in connection with its ongoing investigation into the banned Popular Front of India’s (PFI) conspiracy to radicalise and train cadres and members to carry acts of terror, an official said. The searches were conducted at the premises of the suspects in Bihar’s Katihar district, Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada and Shimoga districts and Kerala’s Kasaragod, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram districts, a spokesperson said.

In Karnataka, NIA conducted simultaneous raids at 16 locations in Dakshina Kannada district, in connection with its probe into terror funding, said officials, adding that the properties searched belonged to PFI members. The agency had received inputs suggesting that funds from Gulf-countries were being channelled into Karnataka to support radical organisations engaged in terror-related activities, said officials. NIA was able to recover digital proof related to money transactions, which will be crucial in unravelling the financial network supporting these unlawful activities, they added.

This is not the first time NIA has conducted searches in Dakshina Kannada district regarding terror-related activities. In March, the agency had initiated similar operations to identify the sources behind funding for such activities. The investigations are also linked to a case involving PFI’s alleged plot to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Bihar on July 12, 2022.