New Delhi: The Assam Police on Friday arrested one more leader of the Popular Front of India (PFI), it informed.
According to the Additional Director General of Police, this arrested PFI leader has been identified as Dr Minarul Seikh who hailed from West Bengal and was arrested from Delhi.
Seikh is the PFI’s state president in West Bengal.
“The person hailing from West Bengal has been arrested from Delhi,” said Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) of Assam police.
The police further informed that so far 11 PFI leaders and workers have been arrested under sections 120B, 124 (A), 153(A), and 353 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Assam Police arrested 10 PFI leaders
Earlier on Thursday, the Assam Police arrested 10 PFI leaders- identified as- Aminul Hoque, Abdul Razzak, Robiul Hussain, Nazrul Islam Bhuyan, Rafiqul Islam, Abu Sama Ahmed, Farhad Ali, Khalilur Rahman, Mufti Rahmatullah and Bazlul Karim for allegedly making efforts to foment communal strife throughout the state.
According to Assam Police, the aforesaid 10 arrested persons were indulging in whipping the communal passion and sentiments of the religious minority by criticizing every policy of the government with communal overtones which include the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), NRC (National Register of Citizens) and ‘D’-Voter, the new state Education Policy, Cattle Protection Act, an extension of AFSPA, TET examination, Agnipath scheme, eviction of encroached government lands with a view to term these actions of the Government as an attack on the Muslim community.
Using Cyber Space to provoke people
The leaders had been extensively using Cyber Space to provoke the people for defying the government and to divide the society on religious lines and obstructing the execution of policies. They were provoking the people against the government with the aim to spread mistrust among the public, police had said.
Notably, the NIA informed that they have registered the case against several PFI leaders Under sections 120 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sections 17, 18, 18B, 20, 22B, 38 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The case was registered by the Delhi branch of the NIA.
PFI involved in radicalizing
The NIA categorically mentioned in the remand copy of the accused how “in pursuance to the conspiracy, they (PFI leaders, office bearers and others) were involved in radicalizing and recruiting Muslim youth to join proscribed organizations like ISIS”.
The revelations came as the NIA, ED, and state police forces arrested 106 PFI leaders, cadres and others on Thursday during searches carried out across India. The NIA carried out searches in 93 locations in 15 states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar, and Manipur.
Searches were conducted in houses & offices of top PFI leaders
These searches were conducted at the houses and offices of the top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding terrorism and terrorist activities, organizing training camps for providing armed training and radicalizing people to join banned organizations.
Initially, the NIA filed a case based on an FIR dated July 4 at Nizamabad Police Station, Telangana against over 25 PFI cadres, after Telangana Police found that the accused were organizing camps for imparting training to commit violent and terrorist acts with the objective of promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion.
The NIA has made 45 arrests in these cases. While 19 accused have been arrested from Kerala, 11 have been arrested from Tamil Nadu, seven from Karnataka, four from Andhra Pradesh, two from Rajasthan, and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
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