On September 2, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was commissioning the INS Vikrant in Kochi, his security team, under the direction of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, was formulating a plan to dismantle the entire network of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala.

During his visit to Kochi for the aircraft carrier commissioning, Doval attended numerous talks with the police officials of Kerala to discuss how to take action against the PFI operatives. From Kerala, the NSA went to Mumbai, where he lived in the Governor’s house and held meetings with security officials.