Central agencies confiscated the land and property of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached a resort at Idukki called ‘Munnar Villa Vista’ owned by PFI State Vice President, NK Ashraf. Four villas and 6.75 acres of land worth Rs.2.53 crores were attached by the ED. The investigation agency had found that these properties were part of a black money laundering network.

In late July, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached what it termed as one of the “largest arms and martial training” facilities allegedly owned by the PFI in Kerala. This was PFI’s biggest weapons training center. This alleged terrorist hiding facility was spread over 10 hectares of land at Manjeri in Malappuram and operated under the cover of Green Valley Academy. It was earlier used by cadres of the National Development Front, which later joined the PFI. 

“The PFI had been using the property for imparting arms training, physical training, and training on use and testing of explosives to its cadres, identified as part of their ‘Service Wing’. The facility was also used to harbor several PFI Service Wing members after they committed crimes, including murders,” the NIA said in a press release.

It said the PFI used the center to impart “radical and rabid ideological training in PFI’s divisive and communal agenda and policies to its trained operatives, cadres and members. Offices of the PFI and its frontal organizations were functioning from these premises under the guise of imparting education and personality development skills.”

So far, the NIA has attached several properties owned by the PFI in Kerala under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) provisions. The NIA stated that the penal action was part of its continuing crackdown on the “terror activities” of the PFI.

The five other PFI training centers attached previously by the NIA in Kerala were Malabar House, Periyar Valley, Valluvanad House, Karunya Charitable Trust, and Trivandrum Education and Service Trust (TEST).

Another 12 PFI offices, used “intermittently by the outfit’s leadership to organize training in arms and physical activity, ideological propagation, and exercise for committing various crimes, including murders and terrorist acts,” have also been attached.

NIA investigations have “revealed that the PFI has been running many such training centers in the guise of charitable and educational trusts formed by the organization’s members or leaders. Investigations have also revealed that the PFI had hired several buildings for running their training camps and activities relating to terror and violence,” the agency stated.

The attachment was led by Chief Inspector Umesh Raia from the NIA Kochi unit. The premise served as the main weapons training centre including handling of explosives, said NIA. Earlier, NIA seized books of accounts and mobile phones from the Green Valley Academy and reportedly found incriminating links between the arrested PFI leaders and the establishment. The confiscation comes consequent to this finding.

After the PFI was banned, the ruling communist regime came under fire for doing little when the NIA gave them information about the properties of the terrorists. Experts opined that politicians are engaging in religious appeasement to increase their voter base at the cost of public safety.