TLI Staff
New Delhi: Days after nationwide crackdown and arrests, the Union Home Ministry has banned Muslim organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates to curb their ‘nefarious activities’ in the country.
The Home Ministry led by BJP strongman Amit Shah on Wednesday said in a media release on Wednesday that PFI and its associates have been found to be involved in serious offences including terrorism and its financing, targeted gruesome killings and disregarding the constitutional set up of the country.
It further said that such activities are prejudicial to the integrity, security and sovereignty of the country.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Home Affairs found it necessary to curb the nefarious activities of the organization and has hence declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) along with its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association” under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” the Home Ministry said.
Last week, central agencies Enforcement Directorate (ED) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with State Police forces carried out massive search operations across the country covering as many as 93 locations in 15 states on now banned PFI and its functionaries.
The states where search operators were conducted and accused were taken in custody included Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Goa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
“A large number of criminal cases have been registered by different states over the last few years against the PFI and members of their involvement in many violent acts. 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 the 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,” said NIA following the nationwide crackdown.
Following the notification banning PFI, the website of the organisation showed server error and failed to load despite multiple efforts. The unverified Twitter handle of the organisation described itself as a neo-social movement that strives for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India.
Reacting to the recent raids by NIA, an official statement from PFI termed the anti-terror agency’s claims as “baseless and sensationalism aimed at creating an atmosphere of terror.”
The statement further said that PFI will never be intimidated by such scare tactics by a “totalitarian” regime that uses the central agencies as puppets.
“The organisation will stand firm on its stand and the struggle for recovering the democratic values and spirit of the constitution of our beloved country,” said the national Executive Council (NEC) of PFI in its statement posted on Twitter.