Kochi, February 18 – The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a man from Malappuram who had been on the run for nearly four years in connection with an alleged arms training case linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
Kochi, February 18 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a man from Malappuram who had been on the run for nearly four years in connection with an alleged arms training case linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
Moitheenkutty, a resident of Valanchery in Malappuram district, was taken into custody at Nedumbassery airport near Kochi.
Investigators said he had been evading the law since 2022 and was one of the key accused in a case involving alleged arms training camps organized for PFI activists.
According to NIA sources, a dedicated team had been tracking his movements based on intelligence inputs gathered from multiple states.
A reward of Rs 7 lakh had earlier been announced for credible information leading to his arrest, highlighting the agency's assessment of his role in the case.
Moitheenkutty was intercepted at the airport while allegedly attempting to travel abroad.
The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the investigation, which has been ongoing as part of a broader crackdown on extremist activities following the Centre's ban on the PFI in 2022.
After being taken into custody, the accused was produced before the relevant court and remanded.
The NIA is expected to seek his custodial interrogation to gather further details about the alleged training network, the extent of coordination among the accused, and any possible financial or logistical support structures.
The agency has been pursuing multiple cases linked to alleged radicalization, recruitment, and arms training across several states.
The investigation in the present case is ongoing, and further disclosures are likely as questioning progresses.
Security agencies maintain that sustained surveillance and inter-state coordination were crucial in tracing the absconding accused.
In late January, the NIA carried out coordinated early-morning raids across multiple districts in Kerala as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected efforts to revive the banned PFI and alleged financial support for extremist activities.
The searches began in the pre-dawn hours and targeted the residences and offices of former office-bearers of the PFI and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The action followed intelligence inputs suggesting that funds were being mobilized clandestinely to sustain banned organizational activities and to facilitate extremist operations.