CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials on Tuesday arrested five people in connection with the conspiracy case booked against Popular Front of India (PFI), an organisation which was banned by the union government last year.
The NIA in a statement said the accused had conspired and planned to eliminate their ‘perceived enemies’ who were not aligned with PFI ideology and were opposed to its plans to establish an Islamic State in India by 2047. “In pursuance of the conspiracy, the accused had radicalised a large number of PFI cadres, especially youth, handpicked by the outfit’s leadership, and had also trained them in the use of different kinds of weapons to assault, maim and kill their adversaries,” the NIA said.
The searches were conducted by the NIA at six locations in the districts of Theni, Dindigul, Madurai and Chennai. Places searched included properties of the accused and houses and farmhouses. The five arrested have been identified as Abdul Razzak (47) of Chennai, advocate Mohamed Yusuf (35) and M Mohamed Abbas (45) of Madurai, A Kyzer (45) of Dindigul and Sathik Ali (39) of Theni.
With this, the total number of people arrested by the NIA in the Tamil Nadu PFI criminal conspiracy case has gone up to 15. A host of incriminating material, including sharp-edged weapons, digital devices and documents were seized during the searches, sources said. The case was first registered on September 19 last year. The national agency filed a chargesheet against 10 of the accused on March 17 this year.