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11 PFI leaders, workers arrested in TN during NIA raids
AS Ismail, national executive committee member of the PFI, was secured from his residence at Karumbukadai in Coimbatore district around 6 am. Mohammed Shakif, national secretary (media and public relations), was secured from Coimbatore railway station when he was on his way from Malappuram (in Kerala) to Mangaluru (in Karnataka).
The central security agencies led by NIA on Thursday raided the PFI Tamil Nadu headquarters in Chennai and residences of its office bearers across the state, and arrested 11 workers of the controversial Islamist group over terror charges.
AS Ismail, national executive committee member of the PFI, was secured from his residence at Karumbukadai in Coimbatore district around 6 am. Mohammed Shakif, national secretary (media and public relations), was secured from Coimbatore railway station when he was on his way from Malappuram (in Kerala) to Mangaluru (in Karnataka).
“Both of them have been taken to New Delhi for further investigations,” a senior police official said.
Searches were simultaneously conducted in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Cuddalore, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Theni and Tenkasi.
Officials searched the PFI Chennai office for more than five hours. There were protests in several places where the crowd raised slogans saying, “Go back NIA” and “NIA go back”.
PFI Tamil Nadu president M Muhammad Shaik Ansari criticised the BJP-led union government. “This is a cowardly act of the politically motivated BJP government,” Ansari said in a statement. “The NIA and the enforcement directorate are trying to intimidate anyone who exposes the anti-people activities of the BJP and the RSS. The Popular Front of India cannot be threatened or disabled.”
He alleged that the RSS was engaged in anti-people and subversive activities that were functioning independently. “We strongly condemn this anti-democratic act of the BJP government.”
M Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Mohammed Yousuf, Syed Ishaaq, Khalid Mohammed, Ahamed Idris, Mohamed Abuthahir, S Khaja Maideen and Yasar Arafat were among the PFI workers arrested in the state.
