Amid one of the biggest nationwide crackdowns on the Popular Front of India (PFI) across the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is chairing a high-level meeting with Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Dinkar Gupta, and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval here.
According to sources, Shah is chairing the meeting at his residence here along with the top officials to get an update on the operation.
Sources said that the top officials would be briefing Shah about the module and funding of the PFI and how it was systematically carrying out terror activities and holding training camps in the country.
Earlier in the day, multiple teams of the NIA, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) along with the state police carried out searches at many locations in 11 states and two union territories and arrested over 106 people.
The teams of NIA and ED also sealed the office premises of PFI in Hyderabad and Delhi, sources said.
The NIA and ED crackdown on premises of PFI office-bearers took place in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Telangana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Puducherry.
In Kerala, NIA arrested 22 people, while from Karnataka and Maharashtra, it arrested 20 people each.
The teams of the NIA and ED arrested 10 people from Tamil Nadu, eight from Uttar Pradesh, nine from Assam, five from Andhra Pradesh, three from Delhi, four from Madhya Pradesh, three from Puducherry, and two from Rajasthan.
The crackdown came days after the NIA carried out searches at 38 locations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on September 18, in connection with a case against PFI registered by it on July 26 this year. The NIA case is based on an FIR launched against PFI cadres by Telangana Police on July 4. Police arrested four members of the PFI.
The accused were organizing camps for imparting training to commit terrorist acts and to promote enmity between different groups on the basis of religion.
During investigations by the Telangana Police, four accused — Abdul Kader, Sheikh Sahadulla, Mohammad Imran, and Mohammad Abdul Mobin — were arrested.
During the searches conducted by NIA last week, incriminating materials, including digital devices, documents, two daggers, cash Rs 8.31 lakh, etc were seized and four persons detained for questioning.