NEW DELHI: In a major crackdown on the controversial Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), Delhi Police apprehended at least 32 of its alleged members in simultaneous raids at several locations in Delhi early on Tuesday. The raids were conducted as part of a joint exercise based on inputs shared by a central intelligence agency. Special Cell had mapped places where the members lived, after which local cops were rushed to detain them. The exercise, termed as Operation Octopus round 2, had PFI’s second, third and fourth rung leaders, who organised workers and cadres on targets, sources said. Last week, the top leadership was apprehended when around 100 operatives were held across the country. The financial network of the outfit, which is likely to be banned soon, is also under the scanner. DCPs of six districts, including Central, Outer, North East, South East, East and Rohini, were asked to be present in the area during the operation to ensure no law and order issues or revolt from locals arose during the raids. Suman Nalwa, spokesperson, Delhi Police, said “Joint, coordinated action against PFI suspects was taken and 32 people were sent to judicial custody.” Police said 18 people were arrested from Central (1), East (6), North East (5) and Rohini (6), while 14 were arrested from South East and Outer districts. The raids started after midnight and went on till the early hours. Paramilitary personnel and cops were deployed at several locations to maintain law and order. Police said most people taken into custody were at one point of time engaged or associated with PFI. Tuesday’s raids were conducted based on inputs gathered from the interrogation of the PFI members arrested earlier. Special Cell had earlier arrested PFI’s Delhi unit president Parvez Ahmed and secretary Mohammad Iliyas for funding the riots and fanning violence during the anti-CAA protests in 2019-2020. The two were questioned by the Enforcement Directorate too. ED had seized a tab from Ahmed, which it claimed had records of a chain of conversations between him and a Rajya Sabha member. The ED’s probe into PFI’s funding revealed that more than half the donations received in the past few months were in cash. Two-thirds of this cash donation was deposited into bank accounts, while one-third was kept in the national headquarters at G-78 Shaheen Bagh. Ahmed was found to be a member of groups like Bhim Army Top 100 and Unification of Muslim leadership, apart from being in frequent contact with several politicians. Watch Fresh raids on PFI establishments across India
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/32-pfi-members-held-in-raids-across-delhi/articleshow/94490831.cms