The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday, July 31, attached what it called one of the oldest and largest arms and physical training centres of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala. NIA said that the PFI training centre was spread over 10 hectares of land at Manjeri in Malappuram and was known as ‘Green Valley Academy’.
“The PFI had been using the property for imparting arms training, physical training, and training on use and testing of explosives to its cadres, identified as part of their ‘Service Wing’. The facility was also used to harbour several PFI Service Wing members after they committed crimes, including murders,” NIA alleged. So far, the NIA has attached 18 PFI-owned properties in Kerala under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) provisions. The five other PFI training centres attached by the NIA in Kerala were in Malabar House, Periyar Valley, Valluvanad House, Karunya Charitable Trust and Trivandrum Education and Service Trust (TEST).
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday blamed the Kerala Police for being unaware that such a training centre was functioning in the state. “It is a huge surprise that such a unit was functioning in Kerala and neither the police nor the authorities appeared to have any clue about it,” the Union Minister said. Kerala BJP President K Surendran applauded NIA’s action, calling it a “slap on the face” of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.