E-Paper
PFI used bank accounts of women, elderly for fund transfer, say officials
Investigation in Uttar Pradesh has revealed that major funds in smaller amounts, ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000, were transferred into the bank accounts of around 500 women and nearly 2,500 elderly people, according to an official.
Lucknow Bank accounts in the names of women and elderly people were used to transfer funds for Popular Front of India (PFI) from Gulf countries, on the pretext of generating funds to organize religious programmes in India, said officials associated with agencies involved in investigating the nexus of PFI across the country.
“The investigation in Uttar Pradesh had revealed that major funds in smaller amounts, ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000, were transferred into the bank accounts of around 500 women and nearly 2,500 elderly people,” said a police official privy to the development. He said interestingly, these women and elderly people were mostly family members of PFI office-bearers and had no links with people working in other countries.
“The funds were transferred into the bank accounts of women and elderly people to avoid coming under the scanner of national agencies and the amounts were small, so nobody noticed them. These funds were later transferred into other accounts or money was withdrawn at once and spent for different purposes,” he explained and added, “These secret funding surfaced during rigorous interrogation of the arrested PFI office-bearers and members in the past some days”.
He said over 12,000 different bank accounts were used for transfer of funds from abroad in the past few months. “The agencies are scanning all these suspicious bank account holders’ details and their links with the banned organisation,” he said, adding, “Influencers like Ahmad Baig Nadwi, who was arrested from Lucknow’s Madeyganj on September 23 and is presently in five -days custody remand of the National Investigation Agency since Monday, used to visit Gulf countries and persuade people to donate funds for the PFI”.
The officials said the funds were also generated locally, in amounts as low as ₹50, from roadside vendors to ₹5 lakh from businessman in the name of organising religious gatherings, arranging hotels for speakers and other people called for the event. They said the Bakshi Ka Talab village pradhan, who escaped during raids by UP Special Task Force (STF) on September 27, was largely involved in generating funds locally through different people.
They said the pradhan was the person who booked hotel rooms and halls for different events of PFI held in Lucknow and he also organised its meetings in Bakshi Ka Talab area regularly. His brother Faizan, who was held during the raid on September 27, had revealed during questioning that the pradhan used to approach Muslims and generate funds for the banned organisation, they added.
Earlier, the primary investigation by the state agencies had revealed that the PFI had spread its network in 23 districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, in the past decade and had over 20,000 members. As many as 69 PFI officer-bearers and members have been arrested from different districts of the state since September 22.
