News Analysis India

Tag: PFI

  • Congress: Congress declines support offered by PFI arm SDPI

    The Congress and the party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala on Thursday declined the electoral support extended three days earlier by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

    The Congress publicly spurned the offer of support after it came under fire from both the BJP and the Left for allegedly seeking support from the party sponsored by the proscribed PFI.

    “The Congress and the UDF oppose communalism, be it by the majority or minority communities, alike. We will not accept the support of such organisations. This is our view about the support extended by SDPI to UDF also,” VD Satheesan, leader of the opposition in Kerala, said hours after the top Left and BJP leaders intensified their attacks on the Congress over the matter. Meanwhile, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan sharpened the criticism of the Left on Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad contest. He said the Congress, fearing a BJP attack, hid its own flags in order to make ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) not to display its green flags at Gandhi’s roadshow in Wayanad on Wednesday.

  • NIA chargsheets 68 in PFI cases of Kerala, TN

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed two chargesheets against 68 Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders, cadres and members in two separate cases in Kochi (Kerala) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). The charges against them include “conspiring to carry out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.”

    According to NIA sources, the chargesheets filed Friday in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the two states where PFI is active, relate to separate “criminal conspiracies” relating to creating a wedge between people of different communities through radicalisation of impressionable Muslim youth, providing them with training in handling of weapons, and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.

    With these, the total number of chargesheets filed by NIA against PFI cadres this month has gone up to four. The first such chargesheet was filed in Jaipur on March 13 and the second in Hyderabad on March 16.

    The Kerala PFI case was registered in September 2022.

    The chargesheet was filed in the Special Court for NIA Cases, Ernakulam, against the PFI as an organisation and 58 other accused persons. NIA had arrested 16 of the accused after taking over the case in 2022, while the others were arrested earlier by Kerala Police. More than 100 locations across the state were raided in connection with the case. The NIA has also attached 17 properties as they were identified as ‘proceeds of terrorism’ and frozen 18 bank accounts of the accused during the course of its investigations.

    In a similar case registered and investigated by NIA’s Chennai branch in Tamil Nadu, the agency filed a chargesheet against 10 accused. 

    NIA investigations allegedly revealed that to achieve their objectives, PFI had established various wings & units including the “physical and arms training wing.” 

    The PFI was allegedly using its various campuses, facilities and infrastructure to impart arms training to selected cadres in the guise of physical education, Yoga training, etc. 

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed two chargesheets against 68 Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders, cadres and members in two separate cases in Kochi (Kerala) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). The charges against them include “conspiring to carry out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.”

    According to NIA sources, the chargesheets filed Friday in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the two states where PFI is active, relate to separate “criminal conspiracies” relating to creating a wedge between people of different communities through radicalisation of impressionable Muslim youth, providing them with training in handling of weapons, and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047.

    With these, the total number of chargesheets filed by NIA against PFI cadres this month has gone up to four. The first such chargesheet was filed in Jaipur on March 13 and the second in Hyderabad on March 16.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The Kerala PFI case was registered in September 2022.

    The chargesheet was filed in the Special Court for NIA Cases, Ernakulam, against the PFI as an organisation and 58 other accused persons. NIA had arrested 16 of the accused after taking over the case in 2022, while the others were arrested earlier by Kerala Police. More than 100 locations across the state were raided in connection with the case. The NIA has also attached 17 properties as they were identified as ‘proceeds of terrorism’ and frozen 18 bank accounts of the accused during the course of its investigations.

    In a similar case registered and investigated by NIA’s Chennai branch in Tamil Nadu, the agency filed a chargesheet against 10 accused. 

    NIA investigations allegedly revealed that to achieve their objectives, PFI had established various wings & units including the “physical and arms training wing.” 

    The PFI was allegedly using its various campuses, facilities and infrastructure to impart arms training to selected cadres in the guise of physical education, Yoga training, etc. 

  • Madhya Pradesh: Muslim law student arrested on ‘false charges’ approaches SC 

    By Online Desk

    A Muslim lawyer and a law student, have reportedly approached the Supreme Court seeking justice after they were implicated in “false, baseless, politically motivated and communally charged cases” at the behest of organisations having affiliations to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

    According to Live Law, the petitioners are lawyer Noorjahan and law student Sonu Mansoori.

    Quoting the petition, Live Law recalled that on January 28, 2023, Bajrang Dal supporters accompanied by a group of lawyers associated with the Adhivakta Sangh (lawyers outfit), manhandled the intern inside the courtroom accusing her of secretly recording bail proceedings of a Bajrang Dal leader. He was accused of carrying out acts of vandalism in protest of the movie ‘Pathan.’ The intern was forcibly frisked by the miscreants who also snatched away a large sum of money and a phone that was in her possession. The police, instead of taking action against the malefactors, took the intern to the police station and lodged FIR against her on the basis of a complaint claiming that she was working for banned outfits like the PFI (Popular Front of India). Subsequently, she was arrested, produced before a court on January 29 and sent to judicial remand till February 1. 

    “No lawyer dared to appear on behalf of the intern amidst the “communally hostile environment” created by the miscreants,” the petition said, according to the legal news site.

    Further, since the local lawyers refused to defend her, four lawyers from Delhi had to go to Indore to file the bail application. But the four counsels were prevented from attending the court hearing and police protection was denied to them. The local bar association also failed to help. The police failed to pay heed to their pleas for help. Due to a lack of legal representation, the intern, who was sent into police custody in the interim, is now under judicial custody.

    The petition sought directions from the Supreme Court for an independent inquiry into the incident that took place in the Indore district court premises. The petition also sought directions to the State government to ensure the safety of the petitioners. Since, apparently, an FIR has been registered also against the lawyer petitioner, the petition pleaded to stay her arrest, Live Law report said.

    The Bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Bela M Trivedi directed the petitioners to approach the competent High Court before coming to the SC, the report said.

    The Judges were apprised that the High Court in Indore is next door to the District Court where the unfortunate incident had taken place. Taking note of the same, the Bench issued notice to the State, the report added. 

    A Muslim lawyer and a law student, have reportedly approached the Supreme Court seeking justice after they were implicated in “false, baseless, politically motivated and communally charged cases” at the behest of organisations having affiliations to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

    According to Live Law, the petitioners are lawyer Noorjahan and law student Sonu Mansoori.

    Quoting the petition, Live Law recalled that on January 28, 2023, Bajrang Dal supporters accompanied by a group of lawyers associated with the Adhivakta Sangh (lawyers outfit), manhandled the intern inside the courtroom accusing her of secretly recording bail proceedings of a Bajrang Dal leader. He was accused of carrying out acts of vandalism in protest of the movie ‘Pathan.’ The intern was forcibly frisked by the miscreants who also snatched away a large sum of money and a phone that was in her possession. The police, instead of taking action against the malefactors, took the intern to the police station and lodged FIR against her on the basis of a complaint claiming that she was working for banned outfits like the PFI (Popular Front of India). Subsequently, she was arrested, produced before a court on January 29 and sent to judicial remand till February 1. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “No lawyer dared to appear on behalf of the intern amidst the “communally hostile environment” created by the miscreants,” the petition said, according to the legal news site.

    Further, since the local lawyers refused to defend her, four lawyers from Delhi had to go to Indore to file the bail application. But the four counsels were prevented from attending the court hearing and police protection was denied to them. The local bar association also failed to help. The police failed to pay heed to their pleas for help. Due to a lack of legal representation, the intern, who was sent into police custody in the interim, is now under judicial custody.

    The petition sought directions from the Supreme Court for an independent inquiry into the incident that took place in the Indore district court premises. The petition also sought directions to the State government to ensure the safety of the petitioners. Since, apparently, an FIR has been registered also against the lawyer petitioner, the petition pleaded to stay her arrest, Live Law report said.

    The Bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Bela M Trivedi directed the petitioners to approach the competent High Court before coming to the SC, the report said.

    The Judges were apprised that the High Court in Indore is next door to the District Court where the unfortunate incident had taken place. Taking note of the same, the Bench issued notice to the State, the report added. 

  • NIA busts multi-state hawala network funding PFI terror activities; five arrested

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The NIA on Tuesday claimed to have busted a multi-state hawala network funding the Popular Front of India’s terror activities with the arrest of five members of the banned outfit in Karnataka and Kerala.

    The agency said despite the ban imposed on it on September 27 last year, PFI leaders and members continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.

    “NIA teams have been carrying out extensive searches in Kasargod (Kerala) and Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka, since Sunday. Searches were conducted at eight locations leading to the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crores of rupees,” a spokesperson of the agency said.

    The official said Popular Front of India (PFI) members Mahammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Iqbal and Abdul Rafeek M of Karnataka and Abid K M of Kerala have been arrested.

    The arrest followed tracing and tracking of funds being moved by the PFI across the country, especially in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said, adding that the agency’s investigations into the Phulwarisharif PFI case of Bihar have led to the unearthing of a large network of hawala operatives in south India.

    “A PFI funding-by-hawala module operating out of Bihar and Karnataka with roots in the UAE has been busted with the arrests of the five operatives,” the official said.

    “PFI cadres in Phulwarisharif and Motihari had vowed to continue PFI activities in a clandestine manner in Bihar and had also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar’s East Champaran district. Three operatives of the module had been arrested on February 5,” the spokesperson said.

    The official said people arrested from Karnataka and Kerala have been found to be actively involved in PFI’s criminal conspiracy to move and channelise illicit funds procured from outside India for distribution among leaders and members of the banned group.

    Earlier, seven accused persons had been arrested when they had gathered in the Phulwarisharif area of Bihar’s Patna in July last year for training and to carry out acts of terror and violence, the spokesperson said.

    Pursuing leads since July last year, the official said the NIA team found that despite the ban on its activities in September last year, the PFI continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.

    Following the leads, the official said, the NIA investigators reached Nawaz and Sinan, who had been found making deposits in the bank accounts of the accused and suspects in the PFI case.

    “Dogged pursuit of the money trail and connecting the dots, the NIA managed to unravel the international conspiracy and linkages to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had collected illegally generated funds from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and handed them over to Sinan, Nawaz, Rafeek and Abid in India,” the spokesperson said.

    “Investigations have shown that Sarfaraz, Sinan and Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of the accused and the suspects,” the official said.

    The NIA said further investigations are on track to trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the PFI.

    The five accused will be produced in the NIA Special Court Patna, the spokesperson said.

    NEW DELHI: The NIA on Tuesday claimed to have busted a multi-state hawala network funding the Popular Front of India’s terror activities with the arrest of five members of the banned outfit in Karnataka and Kerala.

    The agency said despite the ban imposed on it on September 27 last year, PFI leaders and members continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.

    “NIA teams have been carrying out extensive searches in Kasargod (Kerala) and Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka, since Sunday. Searches were conducted at eight locations leading to the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crores of rupees,” a spokesperson of the agency said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The official said Popular Front of India (PFI) members Mahammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Iqbal and Abdul Rafeek M of Karnataka and Abid K M of Kerala have been arrested.

    The arrest followed tracing and tracking of funds being moved by the PFI across the country, especially in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said, adding that the agency’s investigations into the Phulwarisharif PFI case of Bihar have led to the unearthing of a large network of hawala operatives in south India.

    “A PFI funding-by-hawala module operating out of Bihar and Karnataka with roots in the UAE has been busted with the arrests of the five operatives,” the official said.

    “PFI cadres in Phulwarisharif and Motihari had vowed to continue PFI activities in a clandestine manner in Bihar and had also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar’s East Champaran district. Three operatives of the module had been arrested on February 5,” the spokesperson said.

    The official said people arrested from Karnataka and Kerala have been found to be actively involved in PFI’s criminal conspiracy to move and channelise illicit funds procured from outside India for distribution among leaders and members of the banned group.

    Earlier, seven accused persons had been arrested when they had gathered in the Phulwarisharif area of Bihar’s Patna in July last year for training and to carry out acts of terror and violence, the spokesperson said.

    Pursuing leads since July last year, the official said the NIA team found that despite the ban on its activities in September last year, the PFI continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes.

    Following the leads, the official said, the NIA investigators reached Nawaz and Sinan, who had been found making deposits in the bank accounts of the accused and suspects in the PFI case.

    “Dogged pursuit of the money trail and connecting the dots, the NIA managed to unravel the international conspiracy and linkages to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had collected illegally generated funds from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and handed them over to Sinan, Nawaz, Rafeek and Abid in India,” the spokesperson said.

    “Investigations have shown that Sarfaraz, Sinan and Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of the accused and the suspects,” the official said.

    The NIA said further investigations are on track to trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the PFI.

    The five accused will be produced in the NIA Special Court Patna, the spokesperson said.

  • UAPA charges against arrested PFI men in Bihar

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Bihar government has initiated action against members of the radical Islamic organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates following a directive from the Union Home Ministry. The Centre has already banned PFI for its alleged involvement in unlawful activities, which were prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country. However, the state government has initiated action under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.

    According to sources, Bihar home department has asked the District Magistrate (DMs) to take action against seven PFI suspects on the basis of inputs provided by the Union Home Ministry.  The Union Home Ministry had written to state home secretary Amir Subhani for providing names, details of bank accounts and PAN numbers of the members.

    Later, special secretary (home department) KS Anupam asked all district magistrates to initiate action against PFI suspects on the basis of these inputs. The Union Home Ministry’s undersecretary SP Choudhary had earlier sent the details of seven PFI suspects to the state chief secretary of Bihar Subhani, who subsequently asked the authorities concerned to book the seven suspects under UAPA.

    Among seven suspects, four are from Darbhanga and one each from Araria, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. The PFI suspects have their bank accounts in these districts. “We have received a communique from the state home department to tighten the noose around PFI activists and its affiliates.

    The inputs have been shared with SP asking him to take action accordingly,” said Araria DM Inayat Khan. NIA had conducted raids at the PFI members in Phulwarisharif locality in the state capital in September and arrested its three members.

    Seven suspectsThe DMs have been asked to take concrete step against PFI and its affiliates under Unlawful (Prevention) Activities Act. Among seven suspects, four are from Darbhanga and one each from Araria, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. 

    PATNA: Bihar government has initiated action against members of the radical Islamic organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates following a directive from the Union Home Ministry. The Centre has already banned PFI for its alleged involvement in unlawful activities, which were prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country. However, the state government has initiated action under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.

    According to sources, Bihar home department has asked the District Magistrate (DMs) to take action against seven PFI suspects on the basis of inputs provided by the Union Home Ministry.  The Union Home Ministry had written to state home secretary Amir Subhani for providing names, details of bank accounts and PAN numbers of the members.

    Later, special secretary (home department) KS Anupam asked all district magistrates to initiate action against PFI suspects on the basis of these inputs. The Union Home Ministry’s undersecretary SP Choudhary had earlier sent the details of seven PFI suspects to the state chief secretary of Bihar Subhani, who subsequently asked the authorities concerned to book the seven suspects under UAPA.

    Among seven suspects, four are from Darbhanga and one each from Araria, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. The PFI suspects have their bank accounts in these districts. “We have received a communique from the state home department to tighten the noose around PFI activists and its affiliates.

    The inputs have been shared with SP asking him to take action accordingly,” said Araria DM Inayat Khan. NIA had conducted raids at the PFI members in Phulwarisharif locality in the state capital in September and arrested its three members.

    Seven suspects
    The DMs have been asked to take concrete step against PFI and its affiliates under Unlawful (Prevention) Activities Act. Among seven suspects, four are from Darbhanga and one each from Araria, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. 

  • PFI man protesting denial of information on reasons for arrest gets FIR copy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Copies of the FIR and arrest memo have been supplied to a man arrested during the massive crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI) before it was banned, the Delhi High Court was informed on Monday, days after the accused remonstrated the denial of information about the reasons for his arrest.

    The alleged (PFI) activist had moved the high court seeking a copy of the FIR registered against the members of the now outlawed organisation, the grounds for arrest of each of them, and the remand applications filed by the NIA for the custodial interrogation of the accused.

    Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta listed the matter for further hearing on November 11 as the counsel for the accused said the case is listed before the trial court later in the day and he expects the remand application to be provided to him as his NIA custody is likely to end.

    The counsel for Mohd Yusuff, who was arrested from his residence in Chennai on September 22 in the case lodged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the stringent anti-terror law, also told the high court he has received a copy of the FIR after filing the petition and that the accused will get to know the reasons for his arrest from NIA’s remand application.

    “How will we move bail application when we do not know the case against us?” advocate Adit Pujari, appearing for Yusuff, said during arguments.

    The NIA’s counsel noted the grounds of arrest are also mentioned in the FIR and vehemently opposed the accused’s prayer for a copy of the remand application.

    “The remand application is akin to our case diary. The case is at an initial stage. We are keeping it confidential as it can hamper our investigation. The procedure is that they have to first move to the special court and then come to the high court,” the NIA counsel said.

    He said the remand application also contains what the agency is probing and, if supplied to the accused, it will prejudice the NIA’s case.

    A large number of alleged PFI activists were detained or arrested in several states during the massive raids preceding the nationwide ban imposed on the radical Islamist outfit on September 28.

    Petitioner Yusuff, who claims to be a practising advocate, had sought a direction to the NIA to provide him with a copy of the FIR lodged by the agency in Delhi on April 13, the documents listing the grounds of the arrest of each accused person and a copy of the remand applications filed by the NIA before the trial court.

    The petitioner said he was arrested around 3 AM on September 22 from his residence in Chennai by the NIA along with others, who all were picked up from different parts of the country and brought to the national capital in connection with the case lodged in Delhi.

    “At the time of his arrest, the respondent (NIA) did not communicate to the petitioner any particulars of the offence for which he has been arrested or any grounds of such arrest in clear violation of the statutory mandate provided under Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) read with Article 22(1) of the Constitution,” the plea submitted.

    ALSO READ | Delhi HC asks NIA to respond to plea for FIR copy lodged against alleged PFI members 

    It said when the accused were produced before a trial court here, their counsel sought a copy of the FIR lodged on September 22 as well as on September 26.

    However, the additional sessions judge (ASJ) rejected the application filed by the petitioner on the ground that the matter is of a sensitive nature and that providing a copy of the FIR will hamper the investigation, the petitioner submitted.

    It added Article 22(1) of the Constitution prohibits the detention of a person arrested and in custody without being informed of the grounds of such arrest.

    The plea said denial of a copy of the FIR, circumscribing the allegations and particulars of the offences against the accused persons, is a clear violation of the principles of natural justice and the accused person’s right to fair trial and investigation.

    The government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups like ISIS.

    NEW DELHI: Copies of the FIR and arrest memo have been supplied to a man arrested during the massive crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI) before it was banned, the Delhi High Court was informed on Monday, days after the accused remonstrated the denial of information about the reasons for his arrest.

    The alleged (PFI) activist had moved the high court seeking a copy of the FIR registered against the members of the now outlawed organisation, the grounds for arrest of each of them, and the remand applications filed by the NIA for the custodial interrogation of the accused.

    Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta listed the matter for further hearing on November 11 as the counsel for the accused said the case is listed before the trial court later in the day and he expects the remand application to be provided to him as his NIA custody is likely to end.

    The counsel for Mohd Yusuff, who was arrested from his residence in Chennai on September 22 in the case lodged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the stringent anti-terror law, also told the high court he has received a copy of the FIR after filing the petition and that the accused will get to know the reasons for his arrest from NIA’s remand application.

    “How will we move bail application when we do not know the case against us?” advocate Adit Pujari, appearing for Yusuff, said during arguments.

    The NIA’s counsel noted the grounds of arrest are also mentioned in the FIR and vehemently opposed the accused’s prayer for a copy of the remand application.

    “The remand application is akin to our case diary. The case is at an initial stage. We are keeping it confidential as it can hamper our investigation. The procedure is that they have to first move to the special court and then come to the high court,” the NIA counsel said.

    He said the remand application also contains what the agency is probing and, if supplied to the accused, it will prejudice the NIA’s case.

    A large number of alleged PFI activists were detained or arrested in several states during the massive raids preceding the nationwide ban imposed on the radical Islamist outfit on September 28.

    Petitioner Yusuff, who claims to be a practising advocate, had sought a direction to the NIA to provide him with a copy of the FIR lodged by the agency in Delhi on April 13, the documents listing the grounds of the arrest of each accused person and a copy of the remand applications filed by the NIA before the trial court.

    The petitioner said he was arrested around 3 AM on September 22 from his residence in Chennai by the NIA along with others, who all were picked up from different parts of the country and brought to the national capital in connection with the case lodged in Delhi.

    “At the time of his arrest, the respondent (NIA) did not communicate to the petitioner any particulars of the offence for which he has been arrested or any grounds of such arrest in clear violation of the statutory mandate provided under Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) read with Article 22(1) of the Constitution,” the plea submitted.

    ALSO READ | Delhi HC asks NIA to respond to plea for FIR copy lodged against alleged PFI members 

    It said when the accused were produced before a trial court here, their counsel sought a copy of the FIR lodged on September 22 as well as on September 26.

    However, the additional sessions judge (ASJ) rejected the application filed by the petitioner on the ground that the matter is of a sensitive nature and that providing a copy of the FIR will hamper the investigation, the petitioner submitted.

    It added Article 22(1) of the Constitution prohibits the detention of a person arrested and in custody without being informed of the grounds of such arrest.

    The plea said denial of a copy of the FIR, circumscribing the allegations and particulars of the offences against the accused persons, is a clear violation of the principles of natural justice and the accused person’s right to fair trial and investigation.

    The government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups like ISIS.

  • PFI involved in money laundering, ED tells court which sends 3 accused to jail for 14 days

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Popular Front of India (PFI) has been involved in continuous offences of money laundering over the years, the Enforcement Directorate Friday told a Delhi Court which remanded three arrested office bearers of the banned outfit to 14 days of judicial custody.

    The agency also said that its investigation had revealed that the accused persons played an “active role” in raising or receiving “bogus cash donations on behalf of PFI.”  The agency arrested the three accused, Perwez Ahmad, President of PFI Delhi, Mohd.

    Ilias, general secretary of the Delhi unit, and its office secretary Abdul Muqeet on September 22 for their alleged role in the offence of money laundering in the guise of cash donations.

    Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik remanded the three accused to 14 days of judicial custody after they were produced before him on completion of their seven days of custodial interrogation.

    The ED in its remand application said “Prevention of money laundering Act (PMLA) investigation has revealed that as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI office bearers over the past many years, suspicious funds from within the country and abroad have been raised by PFI and related entities,” It also said that the funds were “clandestinely remitted” to India and deposited in their bank accounts.

    Elaborating further, the agency said that the funds were layered, placed, and integrated through the numerous bank accounts of the organisation as well as other PFI members or sympathisers.

    “Thus, PFI and its related entities have been involved in the continuous offence of money laundering over the years,”ED said.

    “Investigation qua the accused persons has revealed that they have played an active role in (raising or receiving ) bogus cash donations on behalf of PFI,” ED added.

    The accused also claimed and projected PFI’s unaccounted cash, received through unknown and suspicious sources, as legitimate, it said.

    As the investigation in the case was continuing and required the gathering of additional information along with the examination of voluminous data from digital devices, the court could grant judicial custody of the accused, the remand application said.

    Further, judicial custody was also required to ensure that the accused did not influence witnesses or tamper with evidence, the application said. Earlier, on September 24 the court had allowed the ED seven days’ custody of the three accused.

    NEW DELHI: Popular Front of India (PFI) has been involved in continuous offences of money laundering over the years, the Enforcement Directorate Friday told a Delhi Court which remanded three arrested office bearers of the banned outfit to 14 days of judicial custody.

    The agency also said that its investigation had revealed that the accused persons played an “active role” in raising or receiving “bogus cash donations on behalf of PFI.”  The agency arrested the three accused, Perwez Ahmad, President of PFI Delhi, Mohd.

    Ilias, general secretary of the Delhi unit, and its office secretary Abdul Muqeet on September 22 for their alleged role in the offence of money laundering in the guise of cash donations.

    Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik remanded the three accused to 14 days of judicial custody after they were produced before him on completion of their seven days of custodial interrogation.

    The ED in its remand application said “Prevention of money laundering Act (PMLA) investigation has revealed that as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI office bearers over the past many years, suspicious funds from within the country and abroad have been raised by PFI and related entities,” It also said that the funds were “clandestinely remitted” to India and deposited in their bank accounts.

    Elaborating further, the agency said that the funds were layered, placed, and integrated through the numerous bank accounts of the organisation as well as other PFI members or sympathisers.

    “Thus, PFI and its related entities have been involved in the continuous offence of money laundering over the years,”ED said.

    “Investigation qua the accused persons has revealed that they have played an active role in (raising or receiving ) bogus cash donations on behalf of PFI,” ED added.

    The accused also claimed and projected PFI’s unaccounted cash, received through unknown and suspicious sources, as legitimate, it said.

    As the investigation in the case was continuing and required the gathering of additional information along with the examination of voluminous data from digital devices, the court could grant judicial custody of the accused, the remand application said.

    Further, judicial custody was also required to ensure that the accused did not influence witnesses or tamper with evidence, the application said. Earlier, on September 24 the court had allowed the ED seven days’ custody of the three accused.

  • PFI involved in ‘disturbing’ secular fabric of India; targeting Hindu activists: Officials

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The PFI, banned on Wednesday, was indulging in “disturbing” the country’s communal and secular fabric and “posing a grave threat” to national security by advancing its radical ideology and seeking to establish “political Islam” in India besides targeting Hindu activists, officials said.

    According to officials monitoring activities of the PFI and its members, a secret ‘service team’ was formed, similar to the ‘hit squads’ whose main task was to provide security to senior PFI leaders and also kept track of Hindu leaders in their areas and plan action against them.

    They alleged the PFI covertly organises training exercises, and military-like drills, where participants are trained to use force and violence against certain religious groups, which are perceived as enemy of Islam.

    They further alleged that since its inception, the PFI has been against Hindu organisations and its leaders and the group has a secret hit squad that engages in targeted killings of Hindu activists and those allegedly indulging in blasphemy.

    The PFI is alleged to have been continuously involved in anti-government propaganda and spreading the narrative that Muslims were being persecuted in India.

    It had allegedly taken a lead in organising anti-CAA protests during December 2019-March 2020 and many cases were registered against them which included 51 in Uttar Pradesh alone where the PFI-led platform, Samvidhan Suraksha Andolan, was among those which coordinated the anti-CAA agitations.

    Through active involvement in the protests, the PFI was able to project itself as a prominent Muslim organisation capable of safeguarding the interests of the community.

    By projecting itself as a champion of Muslim causes, the PFI had been successful in attracting new members over the years.

    Its role in the Delhi riots was also investigated by the ED. In recent years, the peaceful atmosphere of the country was threatened by PFI, which has presence in 17 states, officials said.

    The murder of Praveen Nettaru in Bellare town on July 26 was one of the cases that exposed the violent character of PFI.

    ALSO READ: Kerala PFI general secretary announces outfit has been disbanded; nabbed

    Nettaru, a member of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and a local businessman, was hacked to death in typical ISIS style by bike-borne assailants and most of the accused in the case had affiliation with the PFI, the officials alleged.

    An investigation by local police claimed a chilling tale of cold-blooded murder by PFI cadres and SDPI members in retaliation to the killing of 19-year-old Masood, a Muslim migrant labourer.

    A list of RSS and Bajrang Dal members of the town was prepared and a few were selected to avenge Masood’s death and Nettaru was chosen as he had commented on the halal issue, officials said.

    Disputing the claims of the PFI of being a social organisation working for the uplift of Muslims, the officials said on the contrary, the ground actions of PFI tell a totally different story with several of its cadres have a violent history.

    Over 1400 criminal cases had been registered against PFI cadres and its affiliates across the country including the UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and other sections of the IPC.

    The officials claimed that interrogation of the accused in various cases showed that the PFI would identify Muslim youths, from a poor or middle-class background, for physical training during which they were also inculcated with anti-Hindutva ideology.

    These cadres were trained in handling knife, sword, rods and how to attack specific body parts to inflict maximum damage.

    On July 4, Telangana Police registered a case against 27 people after a training camp for 200 PFI cadres was found in Nizamabad.

    The PFI had been trying hard to make inroads into Telangana to increase its cadre base and was undertaking social programmes like distributing school books and food to the poor.

    The officials alleged there have been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups where some of PFI activists, particularly from Kerala, had joined ISIS and had participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which was the outcome of continuous radicalisation of its cadres.

    ALSO READ: Centre bans PFI and its associates for five years over terror links

    While investigating the foreign funding trail of PFI, the ED found that PFI had formed district executive committees in various gulf countries including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

    The India Fraternity Forum (IFF) and Indian Social Forum (ISF) were PFI’s overseas fronts and were to politically engage the expatriate Muslims to conform to their ideology and organise funds for activities of PFI in India.

    Their executive committees were responsible for sending money to PFI in India without leaving any trail.

    Funds were generally collected in cash and remitted to India either through hawala channels or camouflaged as remittances by sending it to the accounts of India-based relatives and friends of PFI’s members and sympathisers working abroad.

    Further, PFI had linkages with the dreaded Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which was involved in several terror incidents in that country.

    Also, 21 people having linkages with the PFI had joined the internationally banned ISIS terror group.

    Some Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) training videos, depicting gruesome murders, were recovered from the PFI cadre accused in the professor TJ Joseph hand-chopping case in 2010.

    PFI’s top leaders had visited Turkey in 2018 and 2019 to attend programmes related to Palestine.

    Its radical activities had attracted the attention of an international radical outfit namely, the Party of Islamic Renewal, which had in April sent an online letter to PFI on the Twitter, praising its activities and urging it to organise a ‘Revolutionary Army’ for Jihad against the Indian government.

    Pertinently, PFI has also been targeting leaders of the Sufi Islamic Board, who were campaigning constantly for a ban on the PFI.

    Officials said since its inception in 2006, the PFI encouraged its cadres to undertake actions that mar peace and harmony among religious groups and disrupt secular fabric of the country.

    Giving a brief history, they said on December 9, 2006, three south Indian Muslim fundamentalist groups — National Development Front/NDF, Kerala; Karnataka Forum for Dignity/KFD, Karnataka; and Manitha Neethi Pasarai/MNP, Tamil Nadu, rechristened ‘South India Council’ (a Bengaluru-based organisation floated by NDF in 2004) as ‘Popular Front of India’.

    Several members of PFI, including its top leadership, had been active members of banned SIMI which included EM Abdul Rahiman (former Chairman), E Abubacker (Member, National Executive Council/NEC) and P Koya (Member, NEC).

    SIMI was banned in 2001 under the UAPA for anti-national activities. In their oath of allegiance, the PFI cadres swear to sacrifice their lives for the creation of Allah’s rule (Shariah).

    This oath was administered to the cadre only when he was judged to have been suitably radicalised for the group.

    PFI recruits were radicalised by the display of selective video clippings on emotive issues like Babri Masjid demolition, communal riots in Gujarat and other parts of the country, aimed at instilling a sense of Muslim persecution and distrust against the State as well as other communities.

    The officials claimed that during interrogation by the ED (December 2020), Rauf Sharief (former general secretary, CFI), had said that PFI runs a secret relief wing, which actually plans and executes revenge attacks on selected RSS leaders.

    On the funding part, the officials said that PFI receives dubious funding from within the country as well as from abroad.

    PFI and its affiliates maintain large number of bank accounts and receive money through its well-wishers/financers based in India and abroad.

    It also collects Zakat (donations) from its wealthy supporters. Investigating its finances, the CBDT observed its activities were not genuine.

    The source of deposits in 36 bank accounts, out of 85 accounts of PFI, were not supported by the financial profile of the account holders, and activities of PFI were not being carried out according to the objects of the trust.

    The ED had raided several office premises and residences of PFI leaders in 2020 and 2021 for suspected money laundering and arrested PFI leaders.

    During the probe, it was found the PFI had created a very well-organised structure in Gulf countries for raising of funds and the collected fund was sent to India through Hawala.

    It was found PFI was operating money laundering fronts overseas, which included Munnar Villa vista project in Kerala and Darbar restaurant in Abu Dhabi.

    ALSO READ: Welcoming PFI ban, Kerala politicians voice for RSS boycott

    In Munnar Villa vista project, lakhs of unaccounted cash were infused and some benami shareholders were located in UAE, who later transferred the shares to PFI leaders.

    The PFI was parking its illegally raised funds in this project so as to use them as and when required.

    ED probe also revealed Anshad Badruddin (PFI, arrested by UP ATS in Lucknow in February 2021 with arms and explosives) had received more than Rs 3 lakh from PFI (from 2018 to 2021) for criminal activities.

    The officials said the PFI’s accountant during the investigation, in the aftermath of Delhi riots, told his interrogators that PFI’s headquarters at Shaheen Bagh, Delhi kept crores of unaccounted money, which they use without any accountability.

    Many cases of Hawala money transactions were being investigated by various law enforcement agencies against PFI.

    NEW DELHI: The PFI, banned on Wednesday, was indulging in “disturbing” the country’s communal and secular fabric and “posing a grave threat” to national security by advancing its radical ideology and seeking to establish “political Islam” in India besides targeting Hindu activists, officials said.

    According to officials monitoring activities of the PFI and its members, a secret ‘service team’ was formed, similar to the ‘hit squads’ whose main task was to provide security to senior PFI leaders and also kept track of Hindu leaders in their areas and plan action against them.

    They alleged the PFI covertly organises training exercises, and military-like drills, where participants are trained to use force and violence against certain religious groups, which are perceived as enemy of Islam.

    They further alleged that since its inception, the PFI has been against Hindu organisations and its leaders and the group has a secret hit squad that engages in targeted killings of Hindu activists and those allegedly indulging in blasphemy.

    The PFI is alleged to have been continuously involved in anti-government propaganda and spreading the narrative that Muslims were being persecuted in India.

    It had allegedly taken a lead in organising anti-CAA protests during December 2019-March 2020 and many cases were registered against them which included 51 in Uttar Pradesh alone where the PFI-led platform, Samvidhan Suraksha Andolan, was among those which coordinated the anti-CAA agitations.

    Through active involvement in the protests, the PFI was able to project itself as a prominent Muslim organisation capable of safeguarding the interests of the community.

    By projecting itself as a champion of Muslim causes, the PFI had been successful in attracting new members over the years.

    Its role in the Delhi riots was also investigated by the ED. In recent years, the peaceful atmosphere of the country was threatened by PFI, which has presence in 17 states, officials said.

    The murder of Praveen Nettaru in Bellare town on July 26 was one of the cases that exposed the violent character of PFI.

    ALSO READ: Kerala PFI general secretary announces outfit has been disbanded; nabbed

    Nettaru, a member of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and a local businessman, was hacked to death in typical ISIS style by bike-borne assailants and most of the accused in the case had affiliation with the PFI, the officials alleged.

    An investigation by local police claimed a chilling tale of cold-blooded murder by PFI cadres and SDPI members in retaliation to the killing of 19-year-old Masood, a Muslim migrant labourer.

    A list of RSS and Bajrang Dal members of the town was prepared and a few were selected to avenge Masood’s death and Nettaru was chosen as he had commented on the halal issue, officials said.

    Disputing the claims of the PFI of being a social organisation working for the uplift of Muslims, the officials said on the contrary, the ground actions of PFI tell a totally different story with several of its cadres have a violent history.

    Over 1400 criminal cases had been registered against PFI cadres and its affiliates across the country including the UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and other sections of the IPC.

    The officials claimed that interrogation of the accused in various cases showed that the PFI would identify Muslim youths, from a poor or middle-class background, for physical training during which they were also inculcated with anti-Hindutva ideology.

    These cadres were trained in handling knife, sword, rods and how to attack specific body parts to inflict maximum damage.

    On July 4, Telangana Police registered a case against 27 people after a training camp for 200 PFI cadres was found in Nizamabad.

    The PFI had been trying hard to make inroads into Telangana to increase its cadre base and was undertaking social programmes like distributing school books and food to the poor.

    The officials alleged there have been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups where some of PFI activists, particularly from Kerala, had joined ISIS and had participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which was the outcome of continuous radicalisation of its cadres.

    ALSO READ: Centre bans PFI and its associates for five years over terror links

    While investigating the foreign funding trail of PFI, the ED found that PFI had formed district executive committees in various gulf countries including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

    The India Fraternity Forum (IFF) and Indian Social Forum (ISF) were PFI’s overseas fronts and were to politically engage the expatriate Muslims to conform to their ideology and organise funds for activities of PFI in India.

    Their executive committees were responsible for sending money to PFI in India without leaving any trail.

    Funds were generally collected in cash and remitted to India either through hawala channels or camouflaged as remittances by sending it to the accounts of India-based relatives and friends of PFI’s members and sympathisers working abroad.

    Further, PFI had linkages with the dreaded Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which was involved in several terror incidents in that country.

    Also, 21 people having linkages with the PFI had joined the internationally banned ISIS terror group.

    Some Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) training videos, depicting gruesome murders, were recovered from the PFI cadre accused in the professor TJ Joseph hand-chopping case in 2010.

    PFI’s top leaders had visited Turkey in 2018 and 2019 to attend programmes related to Palestine.

    Its radical activities had attracted the attention of an international radical outfit namely, the Party of Islamic Renewal, which had in April sent an online letter to PFI on the Twitter, praising its activities and urging it to organise a ‘Revolutionary Army’ for Jihad against the Indian government.

    Pertinently, PFI has also been targeting leaders of the Sufi Islamic Board, who were campaigning constantly for a ban on the PFI.

    Officials said since its inception in 2006, the PFI encouraged its cadres to undertake actions that mar peace and harmony among religious groups and disrupt secular fabric of the country.

    Giving a brief history, they said on December 9, 2006, three south Indian Muslim fundamentalist groups — National Development Front/NDF, Kerala; Karnataka Forum for Dignity/KFD, Karnataka; and Manitha Neethi Pasarai/MNP, Tamil Nadu, rechristened ‘South India Council’ (a Bengaluru-based organisation floated by NDF in 2004) as ‘Popular Front of India’.

    Several members of PFI, including its top leadership, had been active members of banned SIMI which included EM Abdul Rahiman (former Chairman), E Abubacker (Member, National Executive Council/NEC) and P Koya (Member, NEC).

    SIMI was banned in 2001 under the UAPA for anti-national activities. In their oath of allegiance, the PFI cadres swear to sacrifice their lives for the creation of Allah’s rule (Shariah).

    This oath was administered to the cadre only when he was judged to have been suitably radicalised for the group.

    PFI recruits were radicalised by the display of selective video clippings on emotive issues like Babri Masjid demolition, communal riots in Gujarat and other parts of the country, aimed at instilling a sense of Muslim persecution and distrust against the State as well as other communities.

    The officials claimed that during interrogation by the ED (December 2020), Rauf Sharief (former general secretary, CFI), had said that PFI runs a secret relief wing, which actually plans and executes revenge attacks on selected RSS leaders.

    On the funding part, the officials said that PFI receives dubious funding from within the country as well as from abroad.

    PFI and its affiliates maintain large number of bank accounts and receive money through its well-wishers/financers based in India and abroad.

    It also collects Zakat (donations) from its wealthy supporters. Investigating its finances, the CBDT observed its activities were not genuine.

    The source of deposits in 36 bank accounts, out of 85 accounts of PFI, were not supported by the financial profile of the account holders, and activities of PFI were not being carried out according to the objects of the trust.

    The ED had raided several office premises and residences of PFI leaders in 2020 and 2021 for suspected money laundering and arrested PFI leaders.

    During the probe, it was found the PFI had created a very well-organised structure in Gulf countries for raising of funds and the collected fund was sent to India through Hawala.

    It was found PFI was operating money laundering fronts overseas, which included Munnar Villa vista project in Kerala and Darbar restaurant in Abu Dhabi.

    ALSO READ: Welcoming PFI ban, Kerala politicians voice for RSS boycott

    In Munnar Villa vista project, lakhs of unaccounted cash were infused and some benami shareholders were located in UAE, who later transferred the shares to PFI leaders.

    The PFI was parking its illegally raised funds in this project so as to use them as and when required.

    ED probe also revealed Anshad Badruddin (PFI, arrested by UP ATS in Lucknow in February 2021 with arms and explosives) had received more than Rs 3 lakh from PFI (from 2018 to 2021) for criminal activities.

    The officials said the PFI’s accountant during the investigation, in the aftermath of Delhi riots, told his interrogators that PFI’s headquarters at Shaheen Bagh, Delhi kept crores of unaccounted money, which they use without any accountability.

    Many cases of Hawala money transactions were being investigated by various law enforcement agencies against PFI.

  • Spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah welcomes govt decision to ban PFI

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah Zainul Abedin Ali Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Central government’s decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) for its alleged terror activities.

    The Deewan of the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti said the action was taken in compliance with the law and to prevent terrorism. It should be welcomed by all, he said.

    “If the country is safe then we are safe, the country is bigger than any institution or idea and if someone talks about breaking this country, breaking the unity and sovereignty here, talks about spoiling the peace of the country, then he has no right to live here,” Khan told PTI.

    He said there have been reports of “anti-national activities by PFI” and the ban imposed on it is in the interest of the country.

    ALSO READ | Ban on PFI was necessary to keep country intact: BJP General Secretary Arun Singh

    “Two years ago, I had first demanded that the government ban PFI,” the Ajmer Dargah deewan said.

    Chairman of All India Sajjadanashin Council Nasiruddin Khan also welcomed the step taken by the government. “No institution is bigger than the country,” he said.

    The Centre has banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for their alleged terror activities.

    The organisations which were also declared banned under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA include Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.

    ALSO READ | PFI ban a message to ‘anti-national groups’ that they will not survive in India: Karnataka CM

    The action of the Central government came days after a countrywide crackdown on the 16-year-old PFI, arrest of over a hundred of its activities and seizure of several dozen properties.

    In a late Tuesday night notification, the Union Home Ministry said some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

    Both JMB and SIMI are proscribed organisations. It said there had been many instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

    JAIPUR: The spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah Zainul Abedin Ali Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Central government’s decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) for its alleged terror activities.

    The Deewan of the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti said the action was taken in compliance with the law and to prevent terrorism. It should be welcomed by all, he said.

    “If the country is safe then we are safe, the country is bigger than any institution or idea and if someone talks about breaking this country, breaking the unity and sovereignty here, talks about spoiling the peace of the country, then he has no right to live here,” Khan told PTI.

    He said there have been reports of “anti-national activities by PFI” and the ban imposed on it is in the interest of the country.

    ALSO READ | Ban on PFI was necessary to keep country intact: BJP General Secretary Arun Singh

    “Two years ago, I had first demanded that the government ban PFI,” the Ajmer Dargah deewan said.

    Chairman of All India Sajjadanashin Council Nasiruddin Khan also welcomed the step taken by the government. “No institution is bigger than the country,” he said.

    The Centre has banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for their alleged terror activities.

    The organisations which were also declared banned under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA include Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.

    ALSO READ | PFI ban a message to ‘anti-national groups’ that they will not survive in India: Karnataka CM

    The action of the Central government came days after a countrywide crackdown on the 16-year-old PFI, arrest of over a hundred of its activities and seizure of several dozen properties.

    In a late Tuesday night notification, the Union Home Ministry said some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

    Both JMB and SIMI are proscribed organisations. It said there had been many instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

  • Several PFI activists arrested in NIA round two raids across states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Assam Police on Tuesday launched another operation against the Popular Front of India (PFI) in various districts of the state.

    Police has arrested 25 PFI activists in fresh crackdown in Assam. Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) of Assam Police told ANI that several people have been detained by police in various districts. Hitesh Ch. Roy, Superintendent of Police of Kamrup district said that the Kamrup District Police on Tuesday detained four persons linked with PFI from the Nagarbera area.

    Assam | 4 persons linked with PFI detained from the Nagarbera area today. Our operation against PFI is on in many parts of the district: Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) Assam pic.twitter.com/qTUIEz8PSk
    — ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022
    “Our operation against PFI is on in many parts of the district,” Hitesh Ch. Roy said. Earlier, Assam Police arrested 11 leaders of workers of PFI from various parts of the state and one from Delhi.

    Continuing the crackdown on the organisation, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police arrested a man on Monday in connection with the nationwide crackdown on PFI. The arrested accused has been identified as Mohd Abed Ali.

    ALSO READ | Nearly 106 arrested in NIA’s ‘largest-ever’ raids in 15 states over terror funding charges

    The UP Police Special Task Form (STF) also arrested one person yesterday. The STF arrested a person identified as Abdul Majeed from the Vibhutikhand bus stand from Lucknow under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) when he was trying to leave the city, police said.

    Earlier, the Karnataka unit of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), a political wing of the Popular Front of India, on Monday condemned the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency against its members, and asked why the central agency had not yet conducted raids on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organizations for “acts of communal hatred”.

    The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states on September 22.

    Addressing a press conference here, State Principal Secretary of SDPI, Bhaskar said, “We condemn the unconstitutional raids by NIA. Why hasn’t the RSS been raided yet? We say that RSS is a non-registered organisation as well as a terrorist organisation. PFI is a registered organisation”.

    Terming the NIA raids as a “ploy” to suppress a “strong voice”, the SDPI leader claimed that the government could not prove a single case against the political outfit.

    ALSO READ | PFI raids: Lawyer association alleges govt of weaponising agencies   

    “This is a ploy to suppress a strong voice. They have tried this for years, but they couldn’t prove a single case against SDPI. However, the communal fascist government is constantly carrying out such attacks to create hatred among the people against SDPI and PFI organizations,” the SDPI leader said.

    “The biggest dangerous organization in this country is RSS and its organizations like Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sri Ram Sena, etc. They are involved in acts of communal hatred. But they are never attacked by NIA,” the SDPI leader alleged.

    The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 – the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them.

    Five PFI activists have been arrested from the Kottayam and Kollam districts of Kerala for allegedly engaging in violent activities during the state-wide hartal called by the organisation on September 23 pursuant to nation-wide raids on their offices and arrests of their leaders.

    ALSO READ | PFI on radar: Raids continue on shops, firms in Kannur

    Four activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested from Kottayam on Monday for breaking the glass of a bakery and damaging a KSRTC bus, police said. From Kollam, a PFI activist was arrested on Monday for allegedly ramming into a police motorbike with his two-wheeler in his bid to escape the clutches of the police personnel.

    The police were trying to catch him as he was allegedly intimidating and abusing those present along the Kottiyam-Pallimukku stretch of national highway 66 on September 23, they said.

    In Udupi district, the police have taken four people in custody in connection with various cases. The raids were conducted at Hoode, Gangolli and Byndoor in the district. The detained persons are from Byndoor.

    NEW DELHI: The Assam Police on Tuesday launched another operation against the Popular Front of India (PFI) in various districts of the state.

    Police has arrested 25 PFI activists in fresh crackdown in Assam. Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) of Assam Police told ANI that several people have been detained by police in various districts. Hitesh Ch. Roy, Superintendent of Police of Kamrup district said that the Kamrup District Police on Tuesday detained four persons linked with PFI from the Nagarbera area.

    Assam | 4 persons linked with PFI detained from the Nagarbera area today. Our operation against PFI is on in many parts of the district: Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) Assam pic.twitter.com/qTUIEz8PSk
    — ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022
    “Our operation against PFI is on in many parts of the district,” Hitesh Ch. Roy said. Earlier, Assam Police arrested 11 leaders of workers of PFI from various parts of the state and one from Delhi.

    Continuing the crackdown on the organisation, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police arrested a man on Monday in connection with the nationwide crackdown on PFI. The arrested accused has been identified as Mohd Abed Ali.

    ALSO READ | Nearly 106 arrested in NIA’s ‘largest-ever’ raids in 15 states over terror funding charges

    The UP Police Special Task Form (STF) also arrested one person yesterday. The STF arrested a person identified as Abdul Majeed from the Vibhutikhand bus stand from Lucknow under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) when he was trying to leave the city, police said.

    Earlier, the Karnataka unit of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), a political wing of the Popular Front of India, on Monday condemned the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency against its members, and asked why the central agency had not yet conducted raids on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organizations for “acts of communal hatred”.

    The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states on September 22.

    Addressing a press conference here, State Principal Secretary of SDPI, Bhaskar said, “We condemn the unconstitutional raids by NIA. Why hasn’t the RSS been raided yet? We say that RSS is a non-registered organisation as well as a terrorist organisation. PFI is a registered organisation”.

    Terming the NIA raids as a “ploy” to suppress a “strong voice”, the SDPI leader claimed that the government could not prove a single case against the political outfit.

    ALSO READ | PFI raids: Lawyer association alleges govt of weaponising agencies   

    “This is a ploy to suppress a strong voice. They have tried this for years, but they couldn’t prove a single case against SDPI. However, the communal fascist government is constantly carrying out such attacks to create hatred among the people against SDPI and PFI organizations,” the SDPI leader said.

    “The biggest dangerous organization in this country is RSS and its organizations like Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sri Ram Sena, etc. They are involved in acts of communal hatred. But they are never attacked by NIA,” the SDPI leader alleged.

    The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 – the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them.

    Five PFI activists have been arrested from the Kottayam and Kollam districts of Kerala for allegedly engaging in violent activities during the state-wide hartal called by the organisation on September 23 pursuant to nation-wide raids on their offices and arrests of their leaders.

    ALSO READ | PFI on radar: Raids continue on shops, firms in Kannur

    Four activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested from Kottayam on Monday for breaking the glass of a bakery and damaging a KSRTC bus, police said. From Kollam, a PFI activist was arrested on Monday for allegedly ramming into a police motorbike with his two-wheeler in his bid to escape the clutches of the police personnel.

    The police were trying to catch him as he was allegedly intimidating and abusing those present along the Kottiyam-Pallimukku stretch of national highway 66 on September 23, they said.

    In Udupi district, the police have taken four people in custody in connection with various cases. The raids were conducted at Hoode, Gangolli and Byndoor in the district. The detained persons are from Byndoor.