Thiruvananthapuram, The Kerala Police on Tuesday flatly denied media reports that a report from the NIA has been handed over to state police chief Anil Kant, claiming that 873 state police personnel have links with the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

Taking to Twitter, the state police termed the report "baseless".

The media report, which appeared first in a leading vernacular daily, claims that the NIA lists contains names of Kerala Police officials, cutting across various key sections, ranging from law and order, vigilance, and the special branch.

Then it claimed officials from the rank of sub-inspectors to Station House Officers and civil police officials are under the scanner of the central agencies and their financial dealings are being checked.

The charges against them are that they are engaged in leaking reports of raids.

This news grained traction in the wake of a dozen-odd top PFI leaders, both at the national and state level, being were taken into custody by a joint operation of the NIA and Enforcement Directorate last month from various cities in the state, as part of a nationwide raid on basis of two different cases registered in Delhi and here.

All of them are presently cooling their heels in judicial custody.

Incidentally ahead of the joint raids, the central agencies had sought assistance from the state police chief, without telling what their operation was, and instead, just said that they might require Kerala Police personnel for a task in hand.

This vernacular newspaper was picked up by others, leading to the Kerala Police top making the clarification.