PFI crackdown: Two more members arrested, booked under UAPA by Delhi Police

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have arrested two more members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) under the sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for their alleged involvement in the planning and conspiring against the government and the country.

The case was registered at Khajuri Khas police station in the North district on Tuesday.

"Two PFI members namely Ansar Ali and Muhammad Samun have been arrested who were booked under sections 120(b), 153(a) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 10/13 of UAPA," the police said.

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested four members of the PFI under UAPA, marking the first arrests after the central government banned the organisation on September 28.

The arrested persons were Mohammad Shoaib, Habib Asgar Jamali, Abdul Rabb and Warish. “The police got information that some suspicious activities were being carried out from these offices of the Popular Front of India. Then the police investigated three places and seized the property. Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police were continuously monitoring the situation," the police said.

Police had registered a case against PFI under UAPA at Shaheen Bagh police station on September 29 after which action was taken against the properties of PFI under Section-8 of UAPA.

Delhi Police also raided 50 locations and arrested 32 people linked with PFI with the input of central agencies.

On September 28, the Government of India invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and declared a ban on PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect for a period of five years.

"PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socio-economic, educational, and political organization but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country," said a government notification.

The notification had said that PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been indulging 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.

It had further said that some of the PFI's founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed organisations.

There have been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS); the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been working covertly to increase the radicalization of one community by promoting a sense of insecurity in the country, which is substantiated by the fact that some PFI cadres have joined international terrorist organisations, said the notification.