Guwahati: In accordance with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, the Central government has immediately banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), its associates and affiliates as an unlawful associations for a period of five years.
The statement was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which declared “the PFI and its allies or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect” in a notification late on Tuesday night.
The restriction is placed on PFI as well as its other fronts, such as Campus Front of India (CFI), Rehab India Foundation (RIF), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as a “unlawful association.”
The ban was placed against PFI and its associates, affiliates, or fronts for “engaging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country and have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony of the country and support militancy in the country,” according to the notification.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby declares the Popular Front of India (PFI) and 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’,” reads the notification.
Subject to any instructions that may be issued in accordance with section 4 of the UAPA, the Central Government therefore directs that this notification shall remain in effect for a period of five years following the date of its publication in the Offic.
In addition, “some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has links to Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are prohibited organisations,” According to the Center, which used the examination of its agencies as justification for the embargo.
“In other instances, PFI has been linked to foreign terrorist groups, including as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The fact that certain PFI cadres have joined global terrorist organisations shows that the PFI and its allies have been working covertly to increase radicalization in one community by sowing discord across the country.”
With funding and ideological support from abroad, the PFI has developed into a significant threat to the nation’s internal security, according to the notification. The PFI is involved in a number of “criminal and terror cases and shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country.”
The notification noted that “Rehab India Foundation collects funds through PFI members and some of the members of the PFI are also members of Campus Front of India. Empower India Foundation, Rehab Foundation, Kerala, and the activities of Junior Front. All India Imams Council, National Commission of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO) and National Women’s Front are monitored and coordinated by the PFI leaders”.
It is alleged that the PFI established “associates, affiliates, or fronts with the objective of enhancing its reach among different sections of the society, such as youth, students, women, Imams, lawyers, or weaker sections of the society with the sole objective of expanding its membership, influence, and fundraising capacity.”
Additionally, the PFI and its partners are accused of participating in “a Hub-and-Spoke relationship, with the PFI acting as the Hub and utilising the mass outreach and fund-raising capacity of its partners, affiliates, or fronts for strengthening its capability for unlawful activities, and these partners, affiliates, or fronts function as “roots and capillaries” through which the PFI is fed and strengthened.”
According to the accusations made against them, the PFI and its affiliates have been operating “openly as socio-economic, educational, and political organisations but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a particular section of the society working toward undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country.”
According to the report, “The PFI and its associates, affiliates, or fronts have engaged in illegal activities that are harmful to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country and have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony of the country as well as foster militancy in the country.”
It added that “criminal violent acts carried out by PFI include chopping off limb of a college professor, cold-blooded killing of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths, obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places, and destruction of public property.” Investigations in various cases have revealed that the PFI and its cadres have been repeatedly engaging in violent and subversive acts, it said.
The PFI cadres are also accused for their involvement in several terrorist acts and the murder of several persons, including Sanjith (Kerala, November, 2021), V-Ramalingam (Tamil Nadu, 2019), Nandu (Kerala, 2021), Abhimanyu (Kerala, 2018), Bibin (Kerala, 2017), Sharath (Kamataka, 2017), R.Rudresh (Kamataka, 2016), Praveen Puyari (Karnataka, 2016), Sasi Kumar (Tamil Nadu, 2016) and Praveen Nettaru (Kamataka 2022).
According to the notification, PFI cadres committed crimes and committed gruesome killings only with the intention of “disturbing public peace and serenity and generating reign of terror in the public psyche.”
Additionally, it noted that there had been several cases of “There are connections between the PFI and foreign terrorist organisations, and some PFI activists have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and taken part in terrorist acts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. As well as having connections to Jamat-ul-Muyahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a designated terrorist group, the PFI has killed some of these ISIS-linked PFI cadres in these combat zones and imprisoned others “.
“The PFI’s office holders and cadres, along with others, are plotting to use financial channels to raise money from both domestic and international sources. Regarding the hawala as a well-planned criminal conspiracy, as well as donations and other things. They afterwards used these monies to conduct various illegal, criminal, and terrorist activities in India by layering, integrating, and projecting them as genuine through many accounts.
“The income tax department revoked the registration that had been granted to PFI under sections 12A or 12AA of the Income Tax Act of 1961 because the sources of deposits made on behalf of PFI with regard to its numerous bank accounts were not supported by the financial profiles of the account holders (43 of 1961). Additionally, the Income Tax Department revoked Rehab India Foundation’s registration under Sections 12A or 12AA of the Income Tax Act of 1961 “examines the alert.
It further stated that the State Governments of Gujarat, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh have advocated banning PFI.