After NIA raids in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, central agencies take up probe

After the NIA conducted raids at many locations in Chennai, Mayiladuthurai and Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry on Thursday, several people and organisations are under the scanner of central agencies.

A senior official with a central agency while speaking to IANS pointed out that the details of some people and organisations are being followed by the agencies as a follow-up to the raids of the NIA on Thursday.

During the raids, 16 digital devices, six blunt weapons, and several incriminating documents were seized, sources in the agency told IANS.

In a press statement, the NIA said that a person Sathick Batcha, alias Icama Sadik of Myladuthurai, had hatched a conspiracy along with four others for threatening the public and police. They had also attempted to murder police personnel during a raid on February 21, 2022.

Notably, raids were conducted at nine places in Chennai, Myladuthurai, and Karaikkal by the NIA on Thursday that led to the seizure of certain incriminating documents based on which the central agencies have commenced probe.

The accused on whose premises raids were conducted had also floated certain organisations like the "Khilafah Party of India", "Khilafah Front of India" and "Intellectual Students of India", the documents on these were seized during the raids.

The central agencies are investigating on the antecedents of people who were involved with these movements. Sources informed IANS that after the Coimbatore blasts and the subsequent crackdown of organisations like Al-Umah, the modus operandi has been to work in a low profile and conduct nefarious activities across the state.

Several Hindu organisation leaders were targetted and killed in the state, including the serving state general secretary of the BJP and practicing Chartered Accountant V. Ramesh was hacked to death on July 19, 2013. Several other Hindu outfit leaders were killed and paper organisations had taken up the responsibility of these killings.

With SIMI being a banned organisation, many former workers and leaders of the banned outfit had taken to floating organisations that do not have a proper structure but to motivate and then train and equip cadres for lone attacks or attacks using small groups.

The agencies suspect that organisations like "Khilafah Party of India" and "Khilafah India" were such frontal organisations for more planned operations to be executed.

The presence of Popular Front of India and its political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Tamil Nadu has also been a matter of concern for the intelligence agencies. Popular Front of India draws ideological support from the erstwhile SIMI and the former cadres and leaders of the banned outfit were instrumental in its formation.