"Thirty persons detained so far,” Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said. (Representational image)Taking forward the investigation against workers and sympathisers of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Delhi, the Delhi Police conducted multiple raids in the early hours of Tuesday in the six districts and detained 30 people as a preventive measure, under Section 107/51 of CrPC for breach of peace.
“It was a joint, coordinated action against PFI suspects. Thirty persons detained so far. We will provide further details,” Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said.
Sources said on Monday evening, the Delhi police headquarters informed all the district deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) about the drive against PFI. They were asked to provide assistance to officials of the special cell, who will come along with them to identify all the PFI workers and sympathisers. “Around 12.30 am, all the teams of special cell came to six districts – south-east, north-east, central, outer, east and Rohini, where they met with the DCPs concerned. All the DCPs concerned were asked to be present in their offices when the operation was going on and around 3 am, they conducted raids at the same time in all the districts,” a police source said.
Launching a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), law enforcement agencies had conducted searches across the country last Thursday and arrested over 100 workers of the PFI, including its chairman O M A Salam, for their alleged support to terror activities. Officials said the searches were conducted almost simultaneously in 15 states by the NIA, Enforcement Directorate and state police forces.
In a statement, the NIA had said, “These searches were conducted at the houses and offices of the top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations.”
Last week, hours after it arrested Muhammed Shafeeque Payeth, a PFI leader from Kozhikode in Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate last week told a special PMLA court in Lucknow that probes revealed that Rs 120 crore, mostly cash, was deposited over the years in accounts of PFI and related entities and these organisations had been collecting funds for unlawful activities. In its remand application, the ED told the court that the accused had even planned to form a terrorist gang with the intent to cause disturbance during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Patna on July 12 this year.