Raids against PFI in Kerala continue

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Kerala Police on Sunday conducted raids at houses, shops and establishments owned by the Popular Front of India here, and seized various electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops.

The raids, led by Kannur DCP K Ratnakumar, began at 5 pm and lasted for over two hours, police said, according to news agency PTI.

The Kannur city police conducted raids in the houses of PFI leaders. Pappinisseri, Valapattanam, Iritti, Mattannur and Kannapuram police stations also conducted the raids in their jurisdictions.

Various shopping establishments, including hypermarkets and readymade shops, in the district were raided by the police.

Police have seized laptops, bank account details and mobile phones.

At Valapattanam, the police raided one Akshaya Kendra, a godown, and another trade establishment.

Police have also directed the shop and establishment owners to report to them Monday morning. Police said the details of the bank accounts were seized to probe whether they were receiving funds from foreign countries.

In near simultaneous raids across the country, a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had on September 22 led to the arrest of 106 activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

The NIA had said that the documents seized during the nationwide raids contained highly incriminating material targeting prominent leaders of a particular community.

The PFI in Kerala called a statewide hartal on September 23.

Masked men went on a rampage in different parts of Kerala during the dawn-to-dusk hartal, damaging state-run buses and ambulances, injuring policemen and commoners, and vandalising shops and threatening the public.