The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has informed the Kerala High Court that the banned Islamic terrorist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) had prepared a hit list comprising around 950 individuals from Kerala, including a former district judge. The disclosure was made as part of the agency’s opposition to the bail pleas of four PFI terrorist in the murder of RSS Karyakarta Srinivasan in Palakkad district.
According to the NIA, the PFI maintained a specialised “reporter wing” that identified and tracked individuals from other communities whom the group considered adversaries. The agency stated that these identified individuals were targeted for elimination by it “hit wing” as part of the group’s broader terror agenda.
The list of 950 names was unearthed during the investigation into the murder of Srinivasan who was hacked to death in broad daylight at Melamuri junction in Palakkad on April 16, 2022. He was attacked by PFI terrorists who arrived on a motorbike and entered his shop before killing him.
The NIA submitted to the court that among the documents recovered from accused individuals were eight records containing names and details of targets. One such list, containing 240 names, was seized from Sirajuddin, the prime accused terrorist in the Srinivasan case. Additional lists recovered included 232 names from another accused who later turned approver, and a further list of 500 names found at the residence of accused terrorist Ayub. Another document recovered from absconding terrorist Abdul Wahab detailed five specific targets, including a former judge.
The NIA asserted that PFI was not only maintaining detailed records of targets but was also conducting physical and weapons training for its cadres. The agency pointed to the Periyar Valley campus in Aluva in Ernakulam district as one such training centre, terming its activities as acts of terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a related development, the NIA referred to its investigation into a 2022 case registered at Phulwari Sharif police station in Bihar, from which a six-page document titled India 2047 was seized from accused Mohammed Jamaluddin. This document allegedly outlined a broader plan for the organisation’s extremist activities across India.
The NIA presented these findings during the hearing of bail applications filed by accused Muhammed Bilal, Riyasuddin, Ansar KP, and Zaheer KV, all residents of Palakkad. The agency strongly opposed the bail pleas, citing the seriousness of the evidence and the continued threat posed by the accused and their associates.
The Popular Front of India was banned by the Union Home Ministry on September 28, 2022, for its involvement in anti-national activities and for promoting radicalisation, terrorism and violence under the guise of community mobilisation.
