A counsel for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a Delhi court on Saturday that the Popular Front of India (PFI) was attempting to procure arms from neighboring countries. The agency alleged that the now-banned organization also sought to provide weapons training to its cadres.

These submissions were made during in-camera proceedings before Special Judge (NIA) Prashant Sharma, who was hearing arguments regarding charges against 20 PFI leaders. Media personnel were not permitted to cover the proceedings.

The NIA further alleged that the PFI had sent members to Syria to receive training from ISIS and had formed hit squads to monitor leaders of the BJP, RSS, and VHP. The NIA's investigation revealed that PFI intended to establish Islamic rule in India by 2047 and instill fear in the people. As part of this agenda, PFI formed secret teams called "Service Teams" or "Killer Squads" to carry out killings of perceived enemies and targets. These hitmen received arms and training in surveillance techniques, and were trained to assault or kill identified targets on the instruction of senior PFI leaders.

In April 2022, the NIA registered a case and collected incriminating evidence, leading to the arrest of several top PFI leaders following country-wide operations in September 2022. In March 2023, the NIA filed a charge sheet against 19 accused persons, including the PFI as an organization. A supplementary charge sheet was later filed in April against the PFI national coordinator of weapons training.

The Indian government banned the PFI on September 28, 2022, for a period of five years, citing the organization's prejudice to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country. The government also pointed to PFI's alleged connections with terrorist organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The ban followed large-scale operations by the NIA and other agencies, including raids on PFI premises across the country on charges of terror-funding and money laundering, resulting in the detention of numerous PFI leaders and activists.