PFI

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said the Popular Front of India (PFI), a proscribed terrorist organisation, was working to create an Islamic movement in India through a "jihad" that included non-violent air raids and "guerilla theatre", apart from various methods of cruelty and subjugation. The federal agency issued a statement, saying it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 35 crore that are "beneficially-owned and controlled" by the PFI "in the name of various trusts, companies and individuals" as part of its ongoing probe against the outfit and entities linked to it. The PFI was banned by the Centre in September 2022 after the ED, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and various state police forces carried out countrywide raids against its office-bearers and establishments. The ED alleged that the real objectives of the PFI, formed in 2006 in Kerala but headquartered in Delhi, are "different" from the ones stated in its constitution. "Real objectives of PFI

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Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday attacked the Congress and the ruling Left in Kerala, alleging both were taking the support of a banned organisation, Popular Front of India, to win in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. Shah alleged that while the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), political wing of PFI, openly proclaimed its support for the Congress-led UDF in Kerala, the LDF was silent on the ban on PFI. "On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to protect the country from organisations like the PFI," he said at a poll rally in Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency while seeking votes for BJP's candidate Sobha Surendran. He also alleged that during the rule of the Communists and the Congress, terrorists were protected in state. Shah also attacked the Congress and the Left, alleging that they both pretend to be fighting each other in Kerala and West Bengal, while in other parts of the country they are together. He claimed that ...

Three alleged members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money-laundering charges, official sources said on Saturday. Abdul Khader Puttur, Anshad Baddrudin and Firoz K were working as physical trainers for the PFI, the sources said, adding that they were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrested accused were produced before a special court here on Saturday. The agency has accused the three men of "imparting" weapons training to the PFI cadre and receiving substantial funds from the proscribed organisation for the same. The PFI was banned under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Centre in September 2022 over its alleged links with terror activities. The PFI was formed in 2006 in Kerala. It had its headquarters in Delhi.

Ranjith Sreenivasan, BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, was brutally attacked and allegedly killed in his home, in front of his family

A Kerala court on Saturday found 15 men guilty of killing a BJP OBC wing leader in this coastal district in December 2021. The convicted persons are associated with the now-banned radical Islamist group, Popular Front of India (PFI). Ranjith Sreenivasan, the BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, was brutally attacked and killed in his home on December 19, 2021, in front of his family, allegedly by activists affiliated with PFI and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The verdict was delivered by the Additional District Sessions Court I, Mavelikkara. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Monday. The BJP leader's murder occurred just hours after SDPI leader K S Shan was killed by a gang on the night of December 18 while he was returning home in Alappuzha.

The Centre had banned the PFI for five years for its alleged links with global terrorist organisations and for trying to spread communal hatred in the country

NIA said that its investigations have established that the accused Anwar Rashid was also formerly a member of the banned terrorist organisation, the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)

A Delhi court will decide on November 6 whether to take cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED against an accused in a money laundering case related to alleged terrorist activities also involving the banned Popular Front of India. Additional Sessions Judge Sachin Gupta, who was scheduled to deicide the report against Syed Mohd Kasim Ibrahim on Thursday, adjourned the matter, noting that the proceedings in the case were already listed before the court on November 6. Ibrahim is currently in judicial custody. On October 20, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed the prosecution complaint (agency's equivalent of a charge sheet) before ASJ Gupta who posted the matter for consideration on October 26. ED's Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta, along with advocate Mohd Faizan Khan, told the court there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused in the case. The case relates to alleged laundering of Rs 120 crore over several years. The Popular Front of India (PFI)

The NIA on Wednesday carried out searches at 20 locations across six states against the banned Popular Front of India in connection with a case related to creating disturbance during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar last year, officials said. An official spokesperson said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out extensive search operations at 20 different locations, including Fazalpur, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla and Chandni Chowk in the national capital. Raids were conducted in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Thane and Mumbai in Maharashtra, Tonk and Gangapur in Rajasthan, and Lucknow, Siddharthnagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kanpur and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, he said. Additionally, searches were also conducted in Madurai, the spokesperson added. These operations are part of ongoing investigations in cases linked with the PFI and its involvement in unlawful and anti-national activities, he said. During the searches, a substantial cache of crucial evidence in the ongoing

A soldier, who a day ago had claimed he was assaulted by six persons near his home in this southern Kerala district and 'PFI' was written on his back, was on Tuesday taken into custody along with his friend for allegedly giving a false statement about the incident, police said. A senior police officer of the district said that no arrests have been recorded in the case so far and the statements of the soldier -- Shine Kumar -- and his friend were being recorded. "Further action would be taken after verifying the contents of their statements," the officer said. He also said that the soldier's friend has claimed that Kumar wanted to become famous and that is why this entire act was carried out. The officer further said that the soldier was giving various reasons for making such a false statement and they have to be verified. Police also recovered the green paint, brush and tape allegedly used in the incident from the friend's home. The soldier's friend told the media that Kumar plan

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at several locations linked to former members of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) across the state. Searches are underway at various places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Wayanad districts of the state, police said. The houses of former PFI leaders Abdul Samad and Latheef were also searched in Wayanad and Thrissur districts, they said. According to sources, the raids were launched to ascertain the alleged source of funding for the banned outfit. The central government had on September 28, 2022 declared the PFI as an 'unlawful association' under UAPA and imposed a ban on it for five years.

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The new outfit could be lined up for launch by the SDPI in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year

The National Investigation Agency has filed a supplementary charge sheet against four arrested cadres of the Popular Front of India in a case related to the "unlawful and anti-national activities" of the proscribed outfit in Bihar, an official said on Friday. The fresh charge sheet has been filed in the NIA Special Court, Patna, against Md Tanweer, Md Aabid, Md Belal and Md Irshad Alam, all residents of East Champaran district of Bihar, a spokesperson of the anti-terror federal agency said. The official said the four accused were operating, along with other accused in planning of "violent criminal acts by arranging arms and ammunition and in propagating the PFIs ideology and agenda of violent extremism". They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and Arms Act on Thursday, the spokesperson said. The official said a total of 15 accused, including the four chargesheeted, have been arrested so far for promoting the ...

A Delhi court has denied "default bail" to three members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), who are accused in a money-laundering case related to alleged terror activities. Special Judge Shailender Malik dismissed the applications of accused Mohammad Ilias, Mohammad Perwez Ahmed and Abdul Muqeet, seeking default bail in the money-laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying he did not find any case made out for the relief. The accused were arrested on September 22, 2022 and are currently in judicial custody. The ED had filed a prosecution complaint (the federal agency's equivalent of a chargesheet) against them on November 19, 2022. The accused submitted that the ED had filed the prosecution complaint without completing its investigation and thereby, they should be granted default bail. Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta, who appeared in the court on behalf of the ED, submitted that merely because "further investigation" is going on, it cannot be ...

The NIA is conducting raids at more than 25 locations in Karnataka, Kerala, and Bihar in connection with the Phulwari Sharif case involving the banned Popular Front of India (PFI)

During the recently concluded Karnataka assembly elections, the Congress compared the Bajrang Dal with 'anti-national organisations like SIMI and Al-Qaeda'

He further alleged that the two organisations became strong during the Congress rule

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday confirmed the raids by the National Investigation Agency in Goa against those having alleged connections with Popular Front of India (PFI). NIA on Tuesday conducted several raids across the nation, including the coastal state, in connection with the banned outfit. I learnt about the raid through media but now it is confirmed, said Sawant, who also holds the home portfolio. He said that if the raids are conducted by the NIA, it means that the federal agency must have got credible information about the persons' links with PFI. If there are still contacts of PFI in Goa then they must be raided, he said, in an apparent reference to the action against the sympathisers of the banned outfit by local police earlier this year. Last month, the Sawant had told Goa Legislative Assembly that 32 PFI activists had been arrested by the state police.