Anti-terror NIA

A special court here on Saturday granted the National Investigation Agency the custody of 11 Popular Front of India (PFI) activists, who were arrested on September 22. The NIA special court granted the custody till September 30. The accused, who were taken to the court, raised slogans against the probe agency. However, a lawyer representing some of the accused said the court asked them to avoid sloganeering as it was ready to hear them. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has raised serious allegations against the PFI and its arrested leaders, and claimed that the seized documents during the raids contain highly incriminating materials targeting prominent leaders of a particular community. In a remand report submitted before the court seeking custody of 10 accused in a case registered here, the agency also alleged that the radical Islamist outfit encouraged youths to join terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaida. In near simultaneous raids

The National Investigation Agency on Thursday morning launched a massive nationwide search operation against groups, including PFI, and individuals allegedly supporting terrorists, officials said. In the "largest ever investigation till date", the searches are taking place at the premises of those allegedly involved in terror funding, organising training camps, and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations, they said. "The raids are taking place at the homes of national, state and local leaders of PFI. The state committee office is also being raided. "We strongly protest the fascist regime's moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices," the outfit said in a statement.

The NIA has arrested a total of seven people so far over the gruesome murder four of whom -- Mohsin, Asif, Mohammad Mohsin and Wasim Ali -- are already under judicial custody till August 1.

The raids are being carried out in Chennai, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram district, they said without divulging further details.

Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the new headquarters complex at Lodhi Road in New Delhi on October 10