NIA arrests five in Tamil Nadu PFI case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested five persons, including two advocates in connection with the Tamil Nadu PFI conspiracy case.

The accused were identified as Abdul Razzak, Advocate Mohamed Yusuf, Advocate M. Mohamed Abbas, Kyzer A. and Sathik Ali.

The NIA said with these arrests, the total number has reached 15.

Earleir in the day, searches were conducted by the NIA at six locations in the districts of Theni, Dindigul, Madurai and Chennai. Places searched included properties of the accused, including mostly houses and farmhouses.

"A host of incriminating material, including sharp edged weapons, digital devices and documents, were seized during the searches, leading to the arrest of the five accused," the NIA said.

The case related to unlawful and anti-national activities of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), was initially registered by the NIA on September 19, 2022.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against 10 accused persons on March 17.

"Investigations revealed that the accused had conspired and planned to eliminate their 'perceived enemies' who were not aligned to the PFI ideology and were opposed to its plans to establish an Islamic State in India by 2047.

"In pursuance of the conspiracy, the accused persons had radicalised a large number of PFI cadres, especially youth, selected by the outfit's leadership, and had also trained them in the use of different kinds of weapons to assault, maim and kill their adversaries," the NIA had mentioned in the charge sheet.

Further investigations are in progress in the case.