The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a significant crackdown on radical Islamist networks, has arrested MK Faizy, the national president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. Faizy, who heads the political wing of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), was apprehended late on March 3, night at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport while attempting to flee the country.
Sources confirm that Faizy was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is now in ED custody. His detention marks a major escalation in the government’s ongoing efforts to dismantle PFI-linked networks suspected of radicalisation, anti-India activities, and illicit financial operations.
The ED’s operation comes after its February 28 raids on Faizy’s properties in Kerala, which were part of a nationwide crackdown targeting radical Islamist elements. Despite SDPI’s repeated denials of any links to the banned PFI, intelligence agencies and security experts have long identified it as the political arm of the extremist outfit.
The PFI, along with eight affiliated organisations, was outlawed in September 2022 by the Ministry of Home Affairs following extensive investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which exposed its role in terror financing, radicalisation, and organised violence.
Faizy’s attempt to escape raises serious questions. Was he tipped off? Was he planning to evade Indian law enforcement permanently? Authorities are now probing whether a larger escape network was in place to smuggle SDPI leaders out of the country, similar to previous attempts by PFI operatives to seek asylum abroad.
The SDPI has been under the scanner for openly supporting radical Islamist causes, organising anti-India processions, and attempting to whitewash the PFI’s history of extremism. The organisation’s rallies have often featured incendiary slogans and calls for “resistance” against the Indian state. Critics argue that Faizy’s arrest is just the tip of the iceberg, and a deeper probe into SDPI’s finances could unravel a vast network of illicit funding, possibly linked to foreign sources.
With Faizy now in ED custody, security agencies are expected to intensify their investigation into SDPI’s money trails, potential foreign connections, and its role in perpetuating the PFI’s extremist agenda under the guise of political activism.
The ED, NIA, and state police forces are likely to ramp up their crackdown on SDPI and its operatives in the coming days. Reports suggest that more arrests could follow as investigators dig deeper into the financial transactions that allegedly fueled radical activities across the country.
