873 Kerala cops have PFI links: NIA report

Thodupuzha: At least 873 officers of the Kerala Police have links with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), according to a report handed over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to the state police chief.

Officials in the Sub-Inspector (SI) and Station Head Officer (SHO) ranks, and the civil police personnel are under the scan of the central agencies. It is learnt that they are collecting details of these officers' financial dealings.

The NIA list includes personnel belonging to the Special Branch, Intelligence, Law and Order wings and those entrusted with the office works of top Kerala Police officers, sources said.

The primary charge against them is that they leaked information, including the moves of the state police, especially regarding raids.

Last February, a Civil Police Officer attached to Karimannoor police station in Thodupuzha was terminated from service for allegedly leaking details of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders to the PFI. Three police personnel, including an SI, were transferred from Munnar police station on similar charges.

In a massive crackdown on the PFI in September, multi-agency teams arrested over 100 PFI leaders and activists in near-simultaneous raids in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

The government has imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates -- Rehab India Foundation (RIF), All India Imams Council (AllC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), and other organisations -- as unlawful associations for its alleged terror activities.

Kerala Police refutes report

The state's police force took to its official Twitter handle to refute the claim that a report was handed over by the NIA to Anil Kanth exposing the PFI links of the department's officers. 

The tweet read: "The news that NIA handed over a report to the state police chief exposing the links of 873 police personnel with the now-banned PFI is false and unverified."