NIA says it's seeking red corner notice from Interpol against absconding PFI leaders

A senior official from NIA told ETV Bharat that the agency has been compiling a list of members and leaders of PFI who are still absconding. The list will then be handed over to Interpol seeking its involvement to issue a red notice against them.

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will ask Interpol to issue red-corner notices against some of the absconding Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders and members who were involved in different terror activities across India. A senior official from NIA told ETV Bharat that the agency has been compiling a list of such members and leaders of PFI who are still absconding. "After compiling the list, we will hand it over to Interpol seeking its involvement to issue a red notice against such absconding leaders," a senior NIA official said.

Many of the absconding PFI leaders were found involved in several terror activities including communal clashes in the last few months. Against the backdrop of this, Interpol issued a red notice against a senior PFI leader, Savad, who is absconding following his involvement in the attack on professor TJ Joseph at Ernakulam in Kerala.

As per the NIA charge sheet, it was in July 2010, that seven persons armed with deadly weapons and explosive materials, attacked professor TJ Joseph, chopped off his right palm with an axe, and tried to commit murder of the processor. During the investigation, the roles of 54 accused persons including the seven assailants had surfaced in the case.

As per the charge sheet filed by NIA, Savad and Sajil were directly involved in the attack and MK Nazar was the mastermind behind the attack. Only Savad remains to be arrested in the case. "We hope the red corner notice issued by Interpol will help us in arresting the absconders," the official said. A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

"We have got inputs that many of the PFI members visited Turkey and we are working on that front too," the official said. The agency has already established communication with the Turkish authorities seeking the arrest of such radical activists.

The investigative agency suspects that many of the PFI leaders who evaded the law agencies might have joined terrorist organisation-IS. The investigation has revealed that several people who were involved with PFI, subsequently joined the IS. "We are probing activities of the South Indian module of IS. Our investigation further revealed that maximum of the youths who joined IS hail from Kerala and Tamil Nadu," the official said.

The agency believes that seeking support from Interpol is necessary 'before the members of such radical Islamic organization get involved in terror activities by creating any offshoot'. The Union Home Ministry on September 28 banned PFI for five years for their involvement in terror activities across India.