Why has the Centre banned Popular Front of India?
India Today
The Centre has banned the Popular Front of India and its associated outfits for five years. Here's why the radical outfit has been banned in India.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associated outfits for five years for their alleged role in terror funding and links to global terror groups.
The Centre's action comes after the second round of crackdown by central probe agencies on PFI functionaries across different states. Over 250 PFI members/workers were arrested during the two raids and several incriminating documents were seized.
According to sources within the Intelligence Bureau and MHA, these are the reasons why the Centre has banned PFI:
1. The Popular Front of India had been one of the most potent radical Islamic outfit and its members had been involved in numerous cases of violence, crime, unlawful activities and terrorism. The PFI and its various front organisations had a presence in over 17 states in the country. The PFI encouraged its cadres to undertake actions that were prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and harmony between different religious groups, and disrupted secular fabric of the country. Hence, it is banned under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
2. Over 1,300 criminal cases had been registered by police and NIA against cadres of PFI and its front organisations in different states. Some of these cases were also registered under the UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and other heinous sections of IPC.
Exclusive: What probe agencies found during raids on PFI
3. Further, there had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with terrorist groups. Some activists of PFI, particularly from Kerala, had joined the Islamic State and had participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of these Indian IS terrorists were also killed in action by security forces in these conflict theatres. Some PFI elements associated with the IS had been arrested by NIA and state police. Further, PFI had links with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh/JMB. Some of these terrorist elements had been similarly arrested by NIA and state police forces.
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