Popular Front calls for hartal in Kerala to protest NIA arrests

Kochi: Popular Front of India (PFI) called for a hartal in Kerala on Friday to protest the arrest of its leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). PFI leaders informed that the hartal would be from 6 am to 6 pm. PFI state committee stated that the arrests of its state as well as national leaders carried out by the central agency were unjust and added up to state terrorism, Manorama Online reported.

The Committee said that their strike is to protest the RSS-controlled fascist central government's hunt using central agencies to silence dissenting voices.

NIA had detained some 106 leaders of the organisation from 11 states across the country from dawn on Thursday. The arrests were made for alleged support the arrestees extended for terror activities in the country. With 22 arrests from the state, Kerala had the maximum number of arrests, including state president C.P. Muhammad Basheer, national chairman OMA Salam, national general secretary Naseruddin Elamaram, national executive member Prof. P Koya, state committee member Yahia Thangal, office-bearers of various districts.

Manorama Online further reports that 20 each were arrested from Maharastra and Karnataka, while five from Andhra Pradesh, nine from Assam, three each from Delhi and Puducherry, four from Madhya Pradesh, ten from Tamil Nadu, eight from Uttar Pradesh and two from Rajasthan.

It was Thursday morning, and the NIA and ED started raiding the houses and offices of Popular Front leaders across the country.