Three leaders belonging to the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its students’ wing, Campus Front of India (CFI), were arrested in Assam’s Barpeta district, police said on Saturday.
Amitabh Sinha, superintendent of police (SP), Barpeta district, said that the leaders were absconding since September last year and recently returned to the district.
On 28 September 2022, the government of India declared PFI an “unlawful association” and temporarily banned the organisation for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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The arrested PFI leaders have been identified as Zakir Hussain, Abu Saddam and Zahidul Islam. Hussain is the state secretary of PFI while Saddam plays other important roles, and Islam is the National Treasurer of CFI, police said.
“Abu Saddam was arrested in the past and he was released on bail. This time we have found that he was involved in radical activities and we arrested him,” Sinha said.
“Two of them left the district when the organisation was banned last year. They even left Assam, as per our reports, and recently returned on April 6. Based on specific information, we picked them up from Barpeta Road railway station,” Sinha told HT on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}“Two of them left the district when the organisation was banned last year. They even left Assam, as per our reports, and recently returned on April 6. Based on specific information, we picked them up from Barpeta Road railway station,” Sinha told HT on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}According to the SP, the PFI leaders got in touch with some locals upon returning to the district and are likely looking to expand their organisation. “We are investigating the matter, and those in touch with these three will be identified,” he added.
Police said they recovered cash, gadgets, bank accounts and other documents from the arrested PFI leaders. Some other documents were also found, which were part of their future strategies, claimed police. All three were produced before the Barpeta chief judicial magistrate’s court on Saturday, SP Sinha said.
Several suspected PFI leaders are absconding since the National Investigation Agency (NIA) launched a nationwide crackdown on the organization earlier this year.
On March 18, NIA filed a chargesheet against 19 PFI leaders, including 12 National Executive Council members, a few founding members and senior leaders.
According to the NIA, PFI cadres have been involved in a series of murders and violent attacks in the country based on religious ideas and beliefs, since the outfit was formed in 2006.
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NIA has frozen 37 Bank accounts of the PFI organisation as well as 40 Bank accounts belonging to 19 individuals associated with the organisation across Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Kerala, Rajasthan and other states.
NIA in its press release on March 18 wrote that PFI has a well-planned strategy to wage an armed struggle against the Government of India by radicalising and recruiting Muslim youths.
According to NIA, “Investigations have revealed that PFI was building a mass organisation and a socio-political movement and putting together a highly motivated, trained and secretive elite force to achieve its long-term objectives of the establishment of Islamic rule in India by 2047.”