NIA raids 25 places in Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar in Phulwarisharif PFI case

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted raids at about 25 locations in Karnataka, Kerala and Bihar in the Popular Front of India (PFI) Phulwarisharif case.

The raids were still underway at the premises of suspects linked to the conspiracy which pertains to the involvement of PFI and its leaders and cadres in violent and unlawful activities, who had assembled for that purpose in the Phulwarisharif area of Patna.

Earlier, six persons were arrested and several incriminating articles and documents related to PFI were seized in the instant case which was initially registered on July 12 last year at Phulwarisharif police station in Bihar's Patna district and re-registered by the NIA on July 22 last year.

On February 4-5 this year, the NIA also searched eight locations in Bihar's Motihari and arrested two people who had arranged weapons and ammunition to carry out the killing.

Those arrested were identified as Tanveer Raza alias Barkati and Md Abid alias Aryan. The NIA then said that recce had already been conducted to execute a target and that the arms and ammunition had been handed over to a PFI Trainer, Yakoob, who had been conducting Training Sessions for PFI cadres.

A few days back, Yakoob, the PFI trainer, had posted a derogatory and inflammatory Facebook video post, which was aimed at disturbing peace and communal harmony, the agency said.  "Other users of Facebook had commented and trolled this post abusively.

The absconding accused Yakoob and two arrested accused had identified some of them and had conspired to execute the killing of the targeted person," the NIA had said earlier. With the earlier arrests, the NIA had said a PFI module planning targeted killing and disrupting communal harmony has been unearthed and busted.

(ANI)