NIA's Crackdown On PFI: Key Training Centre Seized For Terror-Related Activities

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken a significant step in its ongoing crackdown on terror-related activities by attaching one of the oldest and largest Arms and Physical Training Centres associated with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

This move comes under the provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, marking the 18th property linked to the banned outfit to be seized in Kerala.

Situated on an expansive 10-hectare expanse in Manjeri, Kerala, the training facility, known as the Green Valley Academy, under the management of a 'Green Valley Foundation' (GVF).

The property's historical usage traces back to the National Development Front's cadres before being taken over by the PFI following a merger, as revealed by the NIA.

Investigations conducted by the NIA unearthed that the PFI effectively employed this establishment for conducting arms training, physical conditioning, and instructive sessions on explosives for its cadres, particularly those affiliated with their 'Service Wing'.

Moreover, the centre allegedly served as a refuge for multiple members of the 'PFI Service Wing' after they had perpetrated various crimes, including cases of murder.

The facility wasn't solely devoted to training but was also utilized to propagate radical and divisive ideological indoctrination among PFI's trained operatives, cadres, and members.

This ideological training aimed at advancing the outfit's communal agenda and policies. The premises housed offices belonging to the PFI and its associated front organizations, cleverly masked under the façade of educational institutions.

This recent attachment of the Green Valley Academy adds to the NIA's previous actions against five other PFI training centres in Kerala, namely Malabar House, Periyar Valley, Valluvanad House, Karunya Charitable Trust, and Trivandrum Education and Service Trust (TEST).

Additionally, the NIA has seized 12 more offices intermittently used by the outfit's leadership for activities such as arms and physical training, ideological propagation, and planning criminal and terrorist acts.

The NIA's thorough investigations have brought to light a distinct modus operandi employed by the PFI, where these training centres operate under the guise of charitable and educational trusts, often established by the organization's members or leaders.

Earlier this year, on 17 March 2023, the NIA filed a comprehensive chargesheet, naming 59 individuals, including the PFI as an organization.