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Material on IS, bomb-making seized during raids against PFI: Officers
The central agencies and local police had collected material against PFI over the years, but among the evidence unearthed in the recent raids is a document through which its cadre was taught how to prepare bombs.
The central agencies and local police had collected material against the Popular Front of India (PFI) over the years, but among the evidence unearthed in the recent raids is a document through which its cadre was taught how to prepare improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a compact disc called “Mission 2047” laying out anti-India objectives, and pen drives containing videos of the Islamic State terror organisation, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and state police on September 22 held coordinated raids at over 100 locations in 15 states and arrested 108 PFI office bearers. In a second crackdown on Tuesday, local police in eight states raided several locations and detained nearly 240 people linked to the organisation, which was banned by the Centre in the early hours of Wednesday.
Raids were also conducted in Bihar the first week of September in the Phulwari Sharif terror case.
A senior NIA official said that a document on bomb-making, issued from PFI headquarters in Delhi, was found in the premises of Mohammad Nadeem, PFI leader from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh. The title of the document was “how to make IEDs using easily available material” and it aimed to arm brainwashed Muslim youth, the official said.
A similar document was also recovered from the residence of Ahmed Beg Nadwi, PFI leader in Khadra in Uttar Pradesh, the official added. Nadeem and Nadwi were among those arrested during the September 22 raids.
In Tamil Nadu, a raid at Social Democratic Party of India’s (SDPI) Ramnad district president Barkatullah’s house led to recovery of two satellite phones, the official said. Barkatullah was also among those detained.
Huge cash was also recovered from premises of PFI leader Shahid in Bengaluru, the official added. Khan is currently in police custody.
In addition, the agencies found a physical training guide and training material, including knives, at PFI offices in Kolkata and Maharashtra. The outfit allegedly organised arms training for its cadres, a second NIA official said.
“Hundreds of other incriminating documents were recovered from the residences, offices and hideouts of PFI and SDPI members in multiple raids since July this year. A prominent document among them is a brochure and CD related to Mission 2047 from the possession of vice president of PFI, Maharashtra,” the official said.
“Mission 2047” is a document containing material to convert India into an Islamic state by the time the country completes 100 years of Independence, he said.
In June 2021, explosives and Jihadi literature were recovered from the Padam forest area in Kerala’s Kollam district. The area was being used by PFI as a military training site, according to a third NIA official.
“PFI has a long history of claiming victimisation even at the drop of a hat. However, the violence orchestrated by its leaders and cadres post arrest of its leaders (on September 22) exposed the violent tendencies of the organisation and proved to the public that arrests were made in the right direction,” the third official said.
Some PFI members indulged in violence and Molotov cocktail attacks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala during protests after the ED and NIA raids on September 22.
