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PFI Leader Abubacker Denied Bail By Delhi High Court

May 28, 2024, 4:37 pm

The Delhi High Court has recently rejected the bail plea of ex-PFI chairman E Abubacker, who was seeking his release under UAPA charges, which are being investigated by NIA, on Tuesday.

While announcing their judgment, the bench consisting of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain, said “We hereby dismiss the appeal.”

Earlier, Abubacker sought bail under both merit and medical grounds.

After being arrested by NIA, as part of huge crackdown against the banned organization in September 2022, he initially approached trial court for his interim bail on medical grounds. After its rejection, he eventually knocked the doors of high court. Where his bail plea got dismissed.

However, in February, the high court ordered Tihar Jail’s medical superintendent, to make sure, that Abubacker receives treatment for his illness regularly.

But it has also refused to place Abubaker under house arrest and announced, he’ll be admitted to hospital for treatment, if needed.

Why PFI Was Banned?

As per National Investigative agency, the popular front of India, planned a criminal conspiracy to get funds for committing terror acts in different parts of the country and established training camps to brainwash and train their cadres for this purpose.

Later, leading the crackdown on PFI, a multi-agency operation headed by NIA, was conducted in September 2022, where a huge number of PFI workers were arrested from 11 states, for supporting terror acts in India.

These arrests were made in the following states and union territories- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Then on September 28, 2022, the government imposed the ban of PFI and its associated organizations under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities & Prevention Act). Alleging, they also have terror links with global terror organizations like ISIS.

NIA raids several states in crackdown on banned outfit PFI

October 11, 2023, 10:58 am

The Popular Front of India (PFI), a banned organisation, is being raided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a number of states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. Official sources claim that since early on Wednesday morning, raids have been carried out in a number of Maharashtra locations. An NIA team has arrived at Abdul Wahid Sheikh’s home in the Vikhroli neighborhood of Mumbai. In the 2006 Mumabi train blast case, Sheikh was found not guilty. In connection with the PFI case, the NIA is also conducting raids in various Madurai locations.

In addition to this, the NIA along with the local police started conducting raid at Old Delhi’s Ballimaran which falls under the Hauz Qazi police station area. The NIA reached the area early on Wednesday morning.

Ealier in September, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids in the houses of former PFI workers in four districts of Kerala- Thrissur, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Wayanad.

In August, the NIA had raided the house of several PFI operatives in Malappuram. The raids were conducted at residences of Thayyil Hamza in Vengara, Kalathiparambil Yahuti in Tirur, Haneefa in Tanur and Rangattur Padikkaparambil Jaffer, who were all part of the banned PFI.

The searches came after the NIA in early August had attached the Green Valley Academy in Manjeri, one of the PFI’s largest and oldest arms and physical training centres.

Court summons Congress leader Mallikarjun kharge in ₹ 100-Crore defamation Lawsuit

May 15, 2023, 1:17 pm

Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress party, was called before a Punjab court today in connection with a defamation case involving the party’s comparison of the youth wing of the Sangh-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, to the outlawed Islamic group Popular Front of India (PFI), in its election manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly.Following a complaint from Hitesh Bhardwaj, the leader of an organisation known as “Bajrang Dal Hindustan,” the Sangrur district court summoned the Congress President.

The petitioner claimed that the Congress likened the Bajrang Dal to “anti-national organisations like SIMI and Al-Qaeda” in its manifesto during the recently-completed Karnataka assembly elections.

In its manifesto, the Congress specifically mentioned the Bajrang Dal when it pledged to outlaw groups that incite “enmity or hatred, whether among majority or minority communities.”

“The Congress Party is dedicated to taking forceful and decisive action against people and groups inciting hatred among groups of people based on their religion or caste. The Congress platform, titled “Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota” (peaceful garden of all communities), stated that the party would take “decisive action” as required by law, including banning them, if elected to power in the state.

80 communal riots occurred during Congress govt: JP Nadda

April 28, 2023, 3:45 pm

JP Nadda, national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), attacked the Congress on Friday, claiming that 80 racial riots took place when the Congress was in power.
80 communal riots had place while the Congress government was in power, Nadda remarked while speaking at an election rally in the heavily contested state.

Today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).” Notably, the Centre had banned PFI in September last year and some members of the Social Democratic Party of India were arrested from Old Bhopal (Shahjehanabad) on suspiction of being in touch with the PFI.

Asking people to vote for BJP in the coming elections for better results, Nadda said, “If you take the right decisions at the right time, then you get the right results.”
Earlier, in the day, JP Nadda designated a four-member team to look into the incidents of violence in Odisha during this year’s Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.

This fact-finding team will be led by BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Brij Lal who’s been the former DGP of Uttar Pradesh.Alongside Brij Lal, three other MPs including Samir Oraon and Aditya Sahu, both Rajya Sabha MPs from Jharkhand and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, MP from West Bengal’s Purulia, will be a part of the team.

This delegation will conduct ground visits, interact with the locals and assess the possible reason which led to the violence and then submit a detailed report to the party’s National president.Sambalpur had witnessed clashes between two communities on April 12 during a bike rally organised as part of Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. Several police personnel were injured and one tribal was killed during these clashes.

Police arrest three PFI and CFI leaders in Barpeta, Assam

April 8, 2023, 1:48 pm

According to officials, three leaders of the banned organizations Popular Front of India (PFI) and Campus Front of India (CFI) were arrested in Assam’s Barpeta district on Friday.
According to Hiren Nath, ADGP (SB), Assam Police, “Police arrested three PFI and CFI members from Barpeta district, including the PFI’s Assam unit secretary and the CFI’s national treasurer.” The arrested PFI and CFI leaders have been identified as Jakir Hussain (34) and Abu Sama (54) of the PFI, and Sahidul Islam (30) of the CFI, according to Nath.
Police have also found Rs 1.50 lakh in cash, four mobile phones, and a Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) brochure from them.
further investigation is underway.

NIA chargesheets 105 Popular Front of India cadres

March 18, 2023, 8:50 pm

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted 105 accused in the cases against the Popular Front of India (PFI) lodged in different parts of the country, charging them with hatching a criminal conspiracy aimed at destabilizing and dismembering the country and waging a war to disintegrate and dismember the Indian Republic to establish an Islamic Caliphate by 2047.

In this month only, the agency has filed five chargesheets from 13 March 13, the first naming two accused from Rajasthan for driving a wedge between different communities in India through radicalization and arms-training of gullible Muslim youth, training them in the handling of weapons and explosives, and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror.

Mohammad Ashif alias Asif of Kota and Sadiq Sarraf of Baran in Rajasthan have been named in the first chargesheet that was based on a case registered by the NIA in September last year to probe the criminal conspiracy of the outfit.

On completion of a major part of investigations into the case relating to the activities and agenda of violent extremism at PFI, the NIA started filing these chargesheets.
All 105 members, and supporters of the banned outfit have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

PFI conspired to make India “Islamic Nation”: Maharashtra ATS

February 9, 2023, 1:46 pm

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a recent chargesheet against some members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) has alleged that the proscribed group conspired to work towards making India an “Islamic nation by 2047”. As per its chargesheet, the ATS alleged that a PDF file was recovered from the mobile phone of the main accused Mazhar Mansur Khan contained a draft Draft Booklet detailing roadmap for ‘Regaining the glory of Islam by 2047’ The document, mentions on one of its pages, “India-2047: Towards Rule of Islam in India”.

MP: 3 PFI members arrested for conspiring against govt in state capital

February 5, 2023, 12:56 pm

Three members of PFI were detained by the MP police on Saturday for allegedly conspiring against the government and indulging in unlawful activities. Accused Ghulam Nabi has been arrested for giving provocative speeches during the programs of the organization. Also accused Parvez Khan of Aurangabad was brought from Aurangabad Jail court after being found involved in the case. Parvez, along with PFI’s Regional PE Incharge Haider Habib had been coming to MP to conduct PE Instructor’s course.

NIA held ‘reporter’ in Popular Front of India case from Kerala

January 18, 2023, 7:02 pm

In the Popular Front of India case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a reporter from the Kollam district.

During a search operation by the NIA, a reporter named Mohammed Sadik was arrested. He is working as a ‘reporter’ for the PFI.

Meanwhile, PFI has assigned the job of a ‘reporter’ to the accused, Sadik, on which NIA said, “A ‘reporter’ in the PFI system collects details about leaders of other communities for possible targetting by ‘Hit Squads’ of the PFI.”

“The accused was arrested subsequent to the searches pertaining to the activities of PFI, its office bearers, members, and affiliates in Kerala, for conspiring to indulge in unlawful activities by creating enmity between members of different religions and groups prejudicial to maintenance of the peace and communal harmony and encouraging vulnerable youth to join terrorist organizations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daesh and Al-Qaida and the people conspiracy to establish Islamic rule in India by committing a terrorist act as a part of violent jihad,” NIA stated.

Earlier on 19 September 2022, a case was registered by the NIA Kochi-based branch.

Furthermore, the NIA discovered digital devices and several incriminating documents at the accused’s home.

However, in connection with the Popular Front of India, the NIA has taken custody of an auto driver, Mohammed Sadique, from Chavara in Kerala.

“An auto driver, Mohammed Sadique, from Chavara, Kollam district, has been taken to NIA custody in connection with PFI. NIA has also got his travel documents,” officials said.

Furthermore, in December 2022, at 56 locations in Kerala, the NIA conducted a search operation.

Patiala House Court dismisses bail plea of PFI leaders

January 10, 2023, 6:48 pm

In a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), the bail petition of Mohd Perwez, Mohd Illiyas, and Abdul Muqeet was dismissed by Patiala House Court on Tuesday.

NIA raids 56 places in Kerala linked to PFI

December 29, 2022, 7:16 pm

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has again taken action against the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) on Thursday and at 56 locations in Kerala, NIA conducted searches. The raids were conducted in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram (3), Kollam (3), Pathanamthitta (3), Kottayam (2), Alappuzha (3), Ernakulam (13), Thrissur (2), Palakkad (1), Malappuram (7), Kozhikode (4), Kannur (9) and Wayanad (6). In the ongoing case, the raids conducted are related to unlawful and violent activities being carried out by the PFI.

Officer probing RSS worker’s murder receives death threat, says ‘Keep a coffin ready’

November 8, 2022, 1:50 pm

In the alleged murder case of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Sreenivasan, the investigating officer is receiving threat calls.

Meanwhile, the investigating officer filed the complaint and said, he has been receiving calls where the caller told him that before leaving Palakkad he will face the consequences.

“He asked the probing officer to keep a coffin ready,” police said.

At Palakkad-Town South police station a complaint has been filed.

Moreover, in the killing of an RSS worker so far 34 accused persons have been arrested and all are related to the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Earlier on 16 April Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, Sreenivasan died after the death of PFI leader Subair.

To probe two cases Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, Sreenivasan’s death case, and PFI leader Subair’s death case ADGP law and order is heading the teams.

However, 5 years ban has been imposed on the Popular Front of India (PFI) by the Central Government.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement and said, “the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”.

Furthermore, the ban is also imposed on Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation.

Both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate received the inputs that, “The PFI has been raising and collecting substantial funds from abroad in a well-organized and structured manner.”

“PFI was raising funds abroad and their transfer to India through clandestine and illegal channels,” the central agencies observed.

Maharashtra ATS arrests the secretary of the PFI unit and other activists from the Raigad district

October 20, 2022, 11:36 am

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested four members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Panvel, Raigad district. According to an official, those arrested included a local unit secretary and two other members of the outfit’s state expansion committee.

The ATS also had specific information about a meeting of two PFI officials and a few workers in Panvel, despite the fact that the group has been banned by the Indian government.

According to the report, the four were arrested after being questioned in a case registered at the Kalachowki unit of the ATS in Mumbai under Section 10 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The latest arrests come just days after separate NIA teams, with the assistance of Bihar police, raided two different locations in Patna in connection with the Phulwarisahrif case, which is allegedly linked to the PFI.

The government banned the PFI and several of its associates for five years last month, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups such as ISIS. Last month, more than 250 people allegedly associated with the PFI were detained or arrested in raids across multiple states.

The Centre banned the PFI and several of its associates for five years last month, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups such as the Islamic State. In raids across multiple states, over 250 people allegedly associated with the PFI were detained or arrested.

Kerala high court directs PFI to pay 5.2 crore for damages

September 29, 2022, 5:46 pm

The high court of Kerala has directed the Popular Front of India (PFI) to pay 5.2 crore for the damages that have been caused during the bandh it called against the raids by the national authorities last week.

Lower courts were instructed by a division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C P Mohammad Nias not to grant bail to the accused till the damages are paid. It instructed the administration to name PFT state secretary A Abdul Sattar, who issued the bandh call, as a defendant in all legal proceedings arising from the violence that took place during the government shutdown.

“Life of citizen cannot be put in peril. The message is loud and clear. If anybody does it, this will be the consequence. You can have your organisation and demonstrations against any cause. The Constitution permits it, but no flash hartals,” the court said.

In 2019, the court said at least seven-day notice was needed for a hartal and declared a sudden shutdown illegal and unconstitutional. The court took cognisance on its own of the PFI’s bandh last Friday.

It said strict proceedings, including attachment of their properties, can be initiated if the damages were not paid. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation earlier informed the court that 58 of its buses were damaged and 20 employees injured in the violence during the bandh.

Centre orders the blocking of PFI websites, social media accounts, and affiliates

September 28, 2022, 2:17 pm

People familiar with the development said that hours after the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its eight affiliate or frontal organisations were banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Centre issued a “takedown” order to block these organisations’ websites and social media accounts so that they could not propagate their activities.

The official websites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts, YouTube channels, or any other online presence of PFI, Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation (Kerala) are being permanently blocked as part of the “takedown” order, and contents posted by them are being removed.

PFI, RIF, and AIIC websites had already been blocked at the time of filing this report. Others are being processed on the orders of the Department of Telecommunications, based on referrals from central agencies, according to an unnamed official.

According to this source, references are being sent to social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to remove their accounts and any content related to PFI, which is now a terror organisation.

PFI, as an “illegal association,” will not issue any press statements through any official channel.

Furthermore, according to a second official familiar with the situation, official WhatsApp accounts linked to PFI, CFI, RIF, and other affiliates will be monitored, and any anti-national activity will be prosecuted.

According to the second officer, if the PFI or any of its affiliates open any proxy social media accounts or websites for their activities, those can now be blocked as well.

Amit Shah takes the plunge and bans PFI and its affiliates for five years

September 28, 2022, 11:02 am

Although the ban on the Islamist Popular Front of India has been debated within the national security establishment since the 2010 handcuffing case of Kerala college lecturer T J Joseph, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah bit the bullet this morning and banned the organisation and its affiliates.

Since the NIA raided 93 PFI locations in 15 states on September 22, followed by countrywide state police raids on the organisation that was radicalising Muslim youth towards extremism, the groundwork for the ban has been laid. The PFI, which has ties to pan-Islamist organisations and Sunni terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaida, and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, was the driving force behind the organisation of anti-CAA protests against the Modi government, which resulted in rioting in states such as Delhi. While Saudi Arabia and the UAE have banned the Muslim Brotherhood, the PFI was primarily funded by Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkey, with the Brotherhood providing cover by accusing the Modi government of being anti-minorities on one of the major English media outlets.

While PM Modi was in Japan for the state funeral of his late friend Shinzo Abe, and HM Shah was in Gujarat speaking at election rallies, a bureaucratic team led by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, intelligence chiefs, and enforcement chiefs laid the groundwork for the ban notification. The principals decided to ban the organisation before the PM left for Japan and Amit Shah went to Gujarat. NSA Ajit Doval, who normally travels with the Prime Minister on foreign trips, was tasked with staying behind and supervising the legal paperwork with input from the intelligence chiefs. Since the NIA and ED raids on September 22, the paperwork has been accompanied by nationwide state police raids.

Given the spread of the PFI and its affiliates in India, as well as their connection to global jihad networks, Home Minister Amit Shah, who previously studied the SIMI and Indian Mujahideen movements as Gujarat Home Minister, has been focused on the pan-Islamist organisation since joining the Modi government in 2019.

The PFI’s role as an ideological radicalizer and instigator of violence against the majority community was highlighted during the anti-CAA agitation, the Delhi riots, and the recent savage beheading of a Udaipur tailor and an Amravati pharmacist for blasphemy after the accused were discovered to have links with this pan-Islamist organisation.

Rather than acting quickly, the Indian intelligence agencies collected, collated, and analysed data before prohibiting PFI. Internal intelligence agencies prepared proper dossiers for enforcement agencies such as the NIA and ED to execute. The raids that preceded the ban were flawless, with the entire PFI top leadership caught off guard and apprehended in a single swoop. The PFI leadership was taken aback by the raid, but they had been expecting the Modi government to move in this direction for the past two months. As a result, there was very little cash or weapon recovery.

PFI will morph into another Islamist outfit to carry out their global agenda, according to national security planners, if the organisation is banned. The ban, however, will disrupt the organisation and deprive the Islamist organisation of funds for at least two to three years. The fight against PFI and extremists is never-ending.

As raids continue, over 50 PFI members arrested in Karnataka

September 27, 2022, 12:55 pm

Law enforcement agencies conducted raids in various areas of Karnataka against members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), during which several of the group’s leaders were taken into custody.

Around 50 people are reportedly in jail as a result of raids that were conducted in Shivamogga, Chitradurga, Mangaluru, Hassan, Bidar, Chikkaballapura, Raichur, and other locations.

“The BJP government is doing this and creating an atmosphere of terror. The NIA has carried out so many raids but has not gotten any proof. We are not anti-nationals. We are protesting legally and won’t tolerate them taking away our leaders in the dead of the night. If they don’t release them, we will have to continue our protests. We are not going to get scared of the police and NIA and will legally continue our protests,” said one member of the PFI from Raichur.

Following days of coordinated arrests by the NIA across multiple states, which resulted in the imprisonment of almost 50 notable leaders, there has been a new round of raids.

Six persons were arrested in the Kolar district.

There are now two individuals in custody in Chamarajanagar.

District 11 PFI and SDPI members were arrested in Dakshina Kannada, while 20 PFI members were detained in Shivamogga.

In the Bagalkot district, seven PFI and SDPI members have been jailed and will remain there till October 3.

Two PFI leaders were arrested in Raichur, and one of them has been remanded in custody.

“The BJP has been a failure in India and Karnataka. Since they have nothing to do in front of the people, they are attempting these things,” PFI member added.

PFI members and supporter are protesting against the crackdown across the state.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) led multi-agency raids on the offices of the organisation and people connected to it on Thursday as part of a nationwide crackdown across 10 states for allegedly supporting terrorist activities, leading to the detention or arrest of numerous Popular Front of India (PFI) activists.

Raids were carried out simultaneously in Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Kalaburagi, Davanagere, Raichur, and Koppal during the crackdown in Karnataka.

Azeez Abdul Shukur Honnavar from Sirsi, Ejaj Ali, the district president of the PFI in Kalaburagi, Shahid Khan, the president of the SDPI in Shivamogga, Maulana Mohammad Kaleemulla, the former president of Mysuru, Imamuddin from Davanagere, and Abu Tahir from Harihara town have all been arrested by police, according to officials.

The following day, Bengaluru cops arrested 14 persons. The majority of those arrested were PFI members.

Police commissioner CH Pratap Reddy, said the suspects were picked up for questioning in connection with a suo motu case registered at the city’s KG Halli police station.

These 14 individuals had remanded in police custody by a Bengaluru court until October 3.

Prominent religious figures and human rights activists in the nation asked that all of the leaders of the Popular Front of India and the Social Democratic Party of India who have been illegally arrested by the NIA be unconditionally and promptly released.

“The raids and arrests are ill motivated and an attempt to silence the dissenting voices against fascism,” read a joint statement by people include Dr. Suresh Khairnar, convenor of All India Secular Forum, Syed Sarwar Chisthy, Gaddi Nashin Khadim of Dargah Ajmer Sharrif , and Rajratna Ambedkar, president of the Buddhist Society of India.

Massive crackdown on PFI continues, with action against members: ten points

September 27, 2022, 11:26 am

A massive crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI) continues, with raids reported in several states. According to reports, raids were carried out in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana, in addition to Karnataka, where over 70 members are said to have been held.

Here is the most recent information on the PFI raids:

1. In Karnataka, 75 PFI and SDPI workers and leaders “were taken into preventive custody, including the SDPI Yadgiri district president,” according to Alok Kumar, ADGP Law and Order, Bengaluru.

2. “Four persons linked with the PFI have been detained from the Nagarbera area today. Our operation is ongoing in many parts of the district,” Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) Assam, said.

3. As of now, 36 people have been arrested in Assam. On Tuesday, there were 25 arrests reported.

4. In the most recent update, two arrests were reported from Maharashtra’s Nashik.

5. To date, more than 20 PFI members have been arrested in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested another activist on Monday in Nanded, Marathwada.

6. Since September 22, when the National Investigation Agency launched a pan-India operation, the crackdown on the PFI has intensified (NIA).

7. According to reports, the controversial Islamic organisation is facing a ban under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967.

8. In Kerala, the outfit called for a statewide shutdown last week in response to action against its members. Several parts of the state have been reported to be violent.

9. However, the state’s high court intervened, stating that “nobody can call bandh without permission.”

10. A controversy has also erupted in Pune, where “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans were allegedly raised. Many political leaders had also spoken out.

Barelvi Muslims call for a ban on Popular Front of India (PFI)

September 24, 2022, 1:07 pm

The Barelvi Ulema has demanded that the Popular Front of India (PFI) be banned for its alleged terror-related activities, which have resulted in nationwide raids by the NIA, ED, and state police on premises linked to its leaders. The president of the All India Muslim Jamaat, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, issued a recorded statement in which he stated that the raids have demonstrated that the Islamist fundamentalist organisation has been “involved in communal riots in various states across the country.”

“That’s why, I urge all Sunni, Sufi, and Barelvi Muslims to not keep any relation with this organisation,” he said.

The Barelvi sect of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly demanded that such organisations be banned immediately in order to protect the country’s unity and integrity. Maulana Barelvi also backed the government’s efforts to tighten the noose around terrorist activities in India.

“It is critical to prohibit such organisations,” he said, adding that the Indian government’s actions have his “complete support.”

Following simultaneous raids on the PFI-SDPI network in 15 states, the NIA arrested scores of PFI leaders. A total of 106 people were held in a massive exercise with coordination between the NIA, 86 platoons of paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, and the state police.

The raids came after a meeting with concerned law enforcement and security officials, presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to review the evidence gathered and plan the next steps. As calls for a blanket ban grow, the government is likely to take a firm stance on the outfit’s status.

The PFI may call itself a socio-religious organisation, but the Islamist organization’s overarching goal is the same as that of the Islamic State: to establish an Islamic Caliphate in India. The PFI has meticulously spread all over India from Kerala with funds from West Asian countries where the Muslim Brotherhood is a dominant force, such as Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkey, with a cadre of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) at its core.

Amit Shah chairs meeting with top officials after raids on PFI

September 22, 2022, 12:43 pm

Following raids on the PFI-SDPI leadership and establishment by the NIA, ED, and police from 13 states, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is meeting with the relevant enforcement and security chiefs to review the evidence gathered and decide on the next course of action. Ajit Doval, the national security advisor, is also present at the meeting.

The raids on PFI-SDPI were carried out after the Intelligence Bureau conducted extensive investigations and data collection in collaboration with the NIA and ED. All state police involved have been working through the night, and the government will make a firm decision on the status of PFI, which claims to be a socio-religious organisation. It is worth noting that the killers involved in the beheadings of innocent people in Udaipur and Amravati had ties to the PFI.

There have been dozens of arrests across the country, with Kerala having the most (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Andhra Pradesh (5), Assam (9), Delhi (3), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry (3), Tamil Nadu (10), Uttar Pradesh (8), and Rajasthan (2).

Persons involved in terror funding, organising training camps, and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations are being searched.

Since intelligence reports indicated that the radical Islamist organisation was being illegally funded by West Asian countries, particularly Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, the home ministry has focused on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing, the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The funds were used not only for terror activities across the country, but also for radicalising young people. The organisation had ties to a pan-Islamist organisation such as the Muslim Brotherhood and intended to be the face of Islam in India.

The PFI-core SDPI’s leadership is largely drawn from the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), whose primary goal was to establish an Islamic Caliphate in India. Despite being an ultra-conservative Sunni organisation, PFI positioned itself as the voice of all Muslims in India, including Sufis, Barelvis, and Deobandis.

National crackdown on PFI by NIA, ED ; over 100 arrested

September 22, 2022, 11:21 am

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the premises of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in numerous states on Thursday morning, according to government sources.

The anti-terror agency conducted operations in ten states, including Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, as part of a broad operation against PFI.

The nationwide operations resulted in the arrest of more than 100 senior PFI officials and leaders. In a coordinated effort, the NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and state police carried out the raids.

The officials said that the searches are being conducted at the homes of people who are organising training camps, sponsoring terrorism, and radicalising people to join organisations that are outlawed.

The Popular Front of India (PFI), in a statement, said, “The raids are taking place at the homes of national, state and local leaders of PFI. The state committee office is also being raided.

“We strongly protest the fascist regime’s move to use agencies to silence dissenting voices,” it said.

The ED has been looking into the PFI’s alleged “financial links” on suspicion that they helped fuel anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests across the nation, the Delhi riots in February 2020, an alleged conspiracy in the Hathras (a district in Uttar Pradesh) case of an alleged gang-rape, and the death of a Dalit woman, among other allegations.

The Popular Front of India (PFI) was established in Kerala in 2006. Its headquarters are located in Delhi.

The investigation agency has filed two charge sheets against PFI and its office holders before a special PMLA court in Lucknow.

The ED filed its first charge sheet against PFI and its student wing, Campus Front of India (CFI), in February of last year on allegations of money laundering, stating that its members planned to “incite communal rioting and sow terror” in the wake of the alleged gang-rape at Hathras.

The charge sheet names K A Rauf Sherif, national general secretary of CFI and a member of PFI; Atikur Rahman, national treasurer of CFI; Masud Ahmed, general secretary of CFI based in Delhi; Siddique Kappan, a journalist; and Mohammed Alam, another CFI/PFI member, among those named in the charge sheet.