Madhya Pradesh: Fresh crackdown on PFI, 21 members nabbed from 8 districts

Bhopal/Indore (Madhya Pradesh):  Madhya Pradesh ATS and NIA in a joint operation arrested 21 activists of Popular Front of India (PFI), from eight districts of the state, said home minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday.  Four people each were apprehended from Indore, Ujjain and Neemuch, three from Rajgarh, two each from Shajapur and Sheopur and one each from Bhopal and Guna, the home minister told reporters in Ujjain on Tuesday.

These people were detained on the basis of interrogation of the four PFI activists arrested last Thursday from Indore and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh in a multi-agency operation led by the NIA for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

 In raids conducted in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, four activists of PFI were arrested from Indore, they have been identified as Abdul Sayed, Taoshif Chipa, Yusif Molana and Danish Gori.

In Bhopal, the ATS conducted raids at SDPI's (Social Democratic Party of India) office located at Shahjahanabad area and detained Abdul Rauf, a resident of Indore.

Persons associated with SDPI are suspected to have been funding PFI, and the ATS claimed to have recovered some documents related to the same.

The activists who were arrested from Ujjain include Ajan Nagori, Akib Khan, Ishque Khan and Juber Ahamad. Two persons Shakir Khan and Samiullaha Khan were picked from Shajapur district.

Sahajad Beeg, Raies Quarashi and Saharukh Khan were arrested from Rajgarh district. Mohsin Quarashi was arrested from Guna district, Mohammad Shamshad and Azam Iqbal from Sheopur district and Khawza Hussain Mansuri, Sahil Khan and Ashik Rangrej from Neemuch district. 

Formed in 2006, the PFI claims to strive for a neo-social movement ostensibly for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India. It is, however, often accused by law enforcement agencies of promoting radical Islam.

The four persons who were arrested earlier are on police remand, are Abdul Karim Bakeriwala, state unit president of PFI, Abdul Khalid general secretary, Mohammad Javed state treasurer and Jameel Sheikh  state secretary.