Around 350 persons including 100 women were removed by the police when Popular Front of India (PFI) took out a march attempting to lay siege to the camp office of National Investigation Agency (NIA) here on Monday.
The organisation, in an official statement, said that the protest against NIA was to condemn its constant effort to portray Muslims in poor light and brand them as terrorists.
It alleged that innocent Muslims were arrested in Sasikumar murder case and NIA had been constantly torturing Muslim youths in the name of investigation. The organisation also alleged that intelligence agencies and NIA were trapping Muslim youths by creating groups in whatsApp and social media, posing as persons affiliated with terror outfits.
Such groups were adding targeted Mulsim youths as members and using the membership and comments posted by them as evidences, it said.
The organisation took out a march from Huzur Road near South Taluk office in the morning. Though the plan was to end the march at NIA camp office at Race Course, the police stopped the protesters before entering Race Course road. As the march was taken out with the permission from the police, the protesters were removed from the place.
They shouted slogans against the BJP at the Centre accusing it of using government machineries to suppress Muslims and portray them as terrorists. Slogans were raised against NIA terming it as agency executing Sangh Parivar and fascist agendas.
Traffic from Race Course to Government Arts College road was disturbed for an hour due to the protest. PFI State secretary Mohammed Fayaz and Coimbatore district president Anwar Hussain led the protest.