Fadnavis calls PFI a silent killer, blames it for Amravati violence

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the Popular Front of India (PFI) was a silent killer actively involved in terror activities to incite communal tension

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the Popular Front of India (PFI) was a silent killer actively involved in terror activities to incite communal tension. He also claimed that the outfit was behind several communal events such as the one that occurred in Amravati last year.

Mumbai, Sep 09 (ANI): Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari meets State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis, at their residence 'Sagar', in Mumbai on Friday. (ANI Photo/ Devendra Fadnavis Twitter) (Devendra Fadnavis Twitter)

Echoing his sentiment, chief minister Eknath Shinde said police investigation had revealed that PFI had conspired to do ‘something serious’ in Maharashtra.

Following the Centre’s ban on PFI, the state home department on Wednesday issued a notification delegating the powers of search on the premises of banned organisations and action against the people involved to district collectors and police commissioners in their respective jurisdiction.

Fadnavis said some people came together to form PFI after SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) was banned in 2001. “When they realised that the bombing and other terrorist activities were not possible because of the alertness of the army and intelligence agencies, PFI adopted the modus operandi of projecting a human face. Under the garb of it they were sowing the seeds of hatred with the sole objective of triggering communal tension. They have different modules and have terror funding links.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the communal violence in Amravati a few months ago was the handiwork of PFI. “People were instigated to come to the streets by showing them fake pictures and videos of demolition of masjids falsely projecting them to be from Tripura. The state government is issuing a separate notification for the ban on PFI and six other outfits that are its frontal organisations.”

The notification was issued under sections 7 and 8 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. “Our notification is in accordance with the powers delegated to us by the central government. The district-level authorities will not have to come to us for permission to search and take action. They have been empowered to enforce the ban to ensure that the activities of the banned outfits do not continue,” a home department official said.

The Maharashtra government had proposed a ban on Sanatan Sanstha in 2017 after the Goa-headquartered outfit was linked to two high-profile killings (of social activists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar) and terror activities in Goa and Maharashtra.