Multiple raids on PFI in ‘anti-terror’ crackdown
Government agencies and police forces raided the premises of controversial Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) across 15 states and 93 locations on Thursday, arresting 106 functionaries on terror funding charges amid rising calls to ban the organisation allegedly linked to a raft of hate crimes and murders.
The raids were conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in coordination with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police forces, in what some officials described as the largest-ever crackdown on the organisation that has gained notoriety in recent years, especially in southern India.
“Searches were conducted at the houses and offices of top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases following continued inputs and evidence that PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations,” NIA said in a statement.
The raids began at 3am and continued till 2pm. At least 300 officers of NIA, along with about 200 officers from ED, and police officers conducted the raids and arrests.
“The raids were planned at dawn deliberately considering PFI can gather hundreds of protestors or members within minutes, which would have been a problem for the raiding party,” said a NIA officer, requesting anonymity.
Hours later, Union home minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting with top officials, including national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, over the crackdown and called for strict action against the organisation, officials familiar with the developments said. Thursday’s crackdown was a result of the home minister’s regular meetings with the federal agencies in the past one year on the matter, an official said on condition of anonymity.
“Criminal violent acts carried out by PFI such as chopping off the hand of a college professor, cold blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths, collection of explosives to target prominent people and places, support to Islamic State and destruction of public property have had a demonstrative effect of striking terror in the minds of the citizens,” the NIA statement added.
Many of these are references to past cases where PFI’s members have been charged. In addition, the role of the organisation is also suspected in orchestrating the protests in Karnatana over the right to wear a hijab in schools, and in the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru in Bellare, Karnakata.
The people arrested include state presidents, secretaries, district committee members and other office bearers of PFI and its political wing, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). This included PFI chairman OMA Salam from his residence in Malappuram, vice-chairman P Koya, general secretary VP Nazarudheen Elamaram, national president E Abubacker, Kerala unit chief Mohammad Basheer, Karnataka general secretary Anis Ahmed, secretary Afsar Pasha, Tamil Nadu general secretary Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Uttar Pradesh unit chief Waseem Ahmed and SDPI Telangana unit chief Abdul Waris.
The action was taken based on five first information reports (FIR) registered by NIA this year in Delhi, Kochi and Hyderabad, linking PFI to funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned outfits.
A second NIA officer said the clampdown was part of a larger probe under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for PFI’s role in allegedly organising or planning terror camps, radicalising youngsters to join proscribed organisations, dubious funding from various countries in West Asia, ostensibly for charity but using it for organising anti-government protests and terror activities.
The raids sparked clashes and demonstrations in several places, especially in Kerala where PFI was founded in 2006. The outfit called a one-day nationwide strike on Friday to protest the action.
In a statement, PFI dismissed the allegations of terrorism and called it sensationalism. “PFI condemned the nationwide raids, the unjust arrests and the harassments of its national and state leaders across India and the witch-hunting against the members,” the statement added.
“Popular Front will never ever surrender on any scary action by a totalitarian regime using the central agencies as its puppets and will stand firm on its will for recovering the democratic system and spirit of the constitution of our beloved country,” it said.
The raids happened in 93 locations across 15 states and one Union Territory – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, Manipur, and Goa. The maximum locations were raided in Kerala (39), followed by Tamil Nadu (16) and Karnataka (12).
The second senior officer quoted above, who didn’t want to be named, said a detailed proposal will be sent by NIA and ED to ban PFI under UAPA to the ministry of home affairs (MHA). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also demanded a ban, and pointed out that Uttar Pradesh, which the party has ruled since 2017, had recommended banning the outfit in 2019 after protests broke out over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. In January 2018, then minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju had said the ministry was considering banning the PFI but there was no movement in this regard later.
“There should be zero tolerance towards communalism — regardless of where it comes from,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.
Founded in 2006, PFI quickly spread its influence in the country with offices in 22 states – from Kerala to Manipur. According to experts, the group’s reach was helped by the unease among a section of Muslims with the rise of Hindu right-wing fringe groups.
The outfit came under the scrutiny of central agencies about a decade ago. Since then, senior functionaries have been charged in over a dozen cases. In 14 cases probed by the NIA, 355 people were charge sheeted and 46 convicted.
The oldest case dates back to 2010, when the hand of a Kerala professor was allegedly chopped off by several PFI members accusing him of blasphemy. In October 2017, PFI members were allegedly linked to the murder of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Rudresh in Bengaluru. In 2020, Delhi Police named three PFI members in connection with the riots that roiled the Capital but has not filed a charge sheet against them. The ED has alleged that the PFI was receiving funds from abroad and had a presence in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The same year, ED also probed PFI’s role in allegedly inciting violence after a Dalit girl was gang-raped and attacked in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district. The agency said ₹100 crore were deposited in PFI’s accounts. Later that year, at least 300 PFI and SDPI members were arrested in Bengaluru on charges of stoking violence. In July this year, Bihar police arrested several PFI members alleging they were planning “anti-India” activities and wanted to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PFI has always rejected these charges, and called itself as a neo-social movement committed to empowering people to ensure justice, freedom and security. But over the past three years, its members have been charged under offences such as possessing arms, kidnapping, murder, intimidation, hate campaign and rioting.
NIA has already termed PFI as “threat to national security” while ED has accused it of running money laundering operations. In February 2021, ED filed its first charge sheet against PFI. Agencies say that many PFI members are former functionaries of the Students Islamic Movement of India, which was banned in 2001, shorty after 9/11 attacks in the US. The agencies have said SIMI was involved in anti national activities and had links with Pakistan based terror groups.
Following PFI‘s call for protests against NIA action, the Kerala BJP state termed the proposed protests as “unnecessary” and urged the state government to take stringent action against observing it.
