NIA carries out searches at 7 locations linked to PFI in Rajasthan

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday conducted searches at seven locations in Rajasthan in connection with a case pertaining to unlawful activities by the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), an official said.

The raids were conducted at three places in Kota and one each in Madhopur, Bhilwara, Bundi and Jaipur districts on residential and commercial premises of suspects, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said.

During the searches, the official said, digital devices, an airgun, sharp weapons and incriminating documents were seized.

The spokesperson said the searches were conducted as a follow up to a case registered suo moto by the NIA on September 19 last year after getting information from reliable sources that PFI members Sadiq Sarraf of Baran and Mohammed Asif of Kota were indulging in "unlawful activities" along with other office-bearers and cadres.

Further investigation in the case is in progress, the spokesperson said.On September 28, the Government of India announced that it had banned the PFI and its eight affiliate organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, after a nationwide crackdown by NIA and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) led to arrests and recovery of purported incriminating documents from offices and residences of the outfit's office bearers. The government cited the organization's alleged involvement in various criminal activities, including promoting enmity between different religious communities, as the reason for the ban.

Since the ban on the PFI, the NIA has arrested over 100 of its operatives. The ongoing raids are to ensure that the Islamic State does not emerge in another avatar of the PFI. The problematic states according to the source cited above are Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar.