The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested five people and carried out searches at six locations in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday in connection with a case related to unlawful activities of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in the southern state, an official said.

The raids were conducted in Chennai, Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts.

With the latest arrests, the total number of people arrested in the criminal conspiracy case registered last year in the state to 15, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

The official identified the accused arrested on Tuesday as Abdul Razzak (47) of Chennai, Advocate Mohamed Yusuf (35) and Advocate M Mohamed Abbas (45) of Madurai, Kyzer A (45) of Dindigul and Sathik Ali (39) of Theni.

The searched place included properties of the accused, mostly houses and farmhouses. The searches led to the recovery of a host of incriminating material, including sharp-edged weapons, digital devices and documents, the spokesperson said.

"Investigations had revealed that the accused had conspired and planned to eliminate their 'perceived enemies' who were not aligned to the PFI ideology and were opposed to its plans to establish an Islamic State in India by 2047," the NIA said.

In pursuance of the conspiracy, the spokesperson said, the accused persons had radicalized a large number of PFI cadres, especially the youth handpicked by the outfit's leadership, and had also trained them in the use of different kinds of weapons to assault, maim and kill their adversaries.

The case was initially registered on September 19 last year. The federal agency filed a charge sheet against 10 accused persons on March 17.

The case relates to a conspiracy and unlawful activities such as creating enmity among different groups on grounds of religion and carrying out activities prejudicial to communal harmony with the intention to disrupt public peace and tranquillity and cause disaffection against India, the officials said.

They said the outfit was accused of organising arms training for its cadre.

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