On December 30, 2022, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) arrested an advocate practising in the Kerala High Court following the raids conducted in 56 premises linked to leaders of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala.
The arrested advocate is identified as Mohammed Mubarak, a native of Edavanakkad in the Ernakulam District. NIA in an official release stated that he is a member as well as trainer of the PFI’s martial arts and hit squad.
A special NIA court sent him to Judicial custody till January 13. He is the fourteenth person to be arrested by NIA from Kerala in connection with a banned outfit.
According to NIA, Muhammed Mubarak was part of the murder squad of the PFI and was giving training in martial arts to other members of such squads of the PFI.
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In the recent past, PFI has carried out many murders in Kerala including the horrifying murder of Advocate Ranjith Sreenivasan. NIA recovered lethal weapons like axe, swords and sickles from his house.
NIA in a press release said, “Investigations have confirmed that the PFI was raising, training and maintaining Hit Squads in different States and districts to target leaders and members of other communities.”
Advocate Muhammed Mubarak was enrolled in the year 2018 and has appeared in around 30 cases in the High Court. As per his profile on Facebook, his wife is identified as a lawyer.
The Modi Government banned PFI for five years on September 2022, by declaring it an “unlawful association” under section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma was appointed as the presiding officer of the UAPA Tribunal in the matter of the ban on PFI and its eight affiliate organisations. Karnataka High Court has dismissed the writ petition challenging the bringing into force the ban with immediate effect.
On October 28, 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Popular Front of India (PFI) state general secretary C, A Rauf, from his house at Pattambi in Palakkad.
