Recent raids at PFI premises called 'Operation Octopus'

Sources in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have said that the raids at the premises of Popular Front of India (PFI) conducted earlier this week were named 'Operation Octopus'.

The sources said that all the 300 officials who were pressed into service were asked to keep quiet during the raids as the agencies wanted to uproot the entire network of PFI.

More than 100 PFI members were arrested and around 200 were detained under 'Operation Octopus'.

Also Read | What is the PFI? Why is it on the ED, NIA radar?

The ED and NIA have found that the PFI members were involved in anti-national activities.

These raids were conducted at the houses and offices of top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the organisation members were involved in terror funding, organising training camps and radicalising people.

Read More | Maharashtra: More than 60 booked in Pune for holding protest over action against PFI

The NIA has claimed that the accused were organising camps for imparting training to commit violent and terrorist acts with the objective of promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion.

The probe agency said that violent acts carried out by PFI such as chopping off the hand of a college professor, cold blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing the other faiths, collection of explosives to target prominent people and places, support to the Islamic State terror group and destruction of public property have had a demonstrative effect of striking terror in the minds of the citizens.