Home Minister Amit Shah Chairs Meeting With NSA, Top Officials Amid PFI Raids

Meeting comes after NIA, and ED carried out search operations at the residences and offices of PFI workers across 11 states and arrested 106 for alleged involvement in anti-national terror activities.

New Delhi: Union Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, chaired a meeting with officials including National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and DG National Investigation Agency Yogesh Chander Modi. Union Home Minister, during the meeting laid emphasis on "zero tolerance" on terror funding. 

The meeting comes after the NIA, and ED carried out search operations at the residences and offices of Popular Front of India (PFI) workers across 11 states and arrested 106 persons for their alleged involvement in anti-national terror activities.

According to the officials, the arrests were made during the raids which have been termed the "largest-ever investigation process till date".

Details of the arrested activists were not available immediately, but officials said the arrests were done by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the police forces of 11 states so far.

NIA sealed the Telangana PFI head office in Chandrayangutta, Hyderabad in connection with a case registered earlier, news agency ANI reported 

Of the 106 arrests made across 11 states in the largest ever anti-terror operation conducted by the agencies, the maximum arrests were made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Andhra Pradesh (5), Assam (9), Delhi (3), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry (3), Tamil Nadu (10), Uttar Pradesh (8) and Rajasthan (2).

The Popular Front of India (PFI), in a statement, said, "The raids are taking place at the homes of national, state and local leaders of PFI. The state committee office is also being raided. We strongly protest the fascist regime's move to use agencies to silence dissenting voices." 

The officials said the searches are taking place at the premises of persons involved in terror funding, organising training camps, and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations.

‘The ED has been investigating the PFI's alleged "financial links" on charges of fuelling the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the country, the 2020 Delhi riots, alleged conspiracy in Hathras (a district in Uttar Pradesh) over alleged gang-rape and death of a Dalit woman, and a few other instances.

(With agencies' inputs)