The Uttar Pradesh Police detained four men, allegedly linked to the Popular Front of India (PFI), in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura on Monday night.
According to NDTV, the men were headed to Hathras from Delhi in a car when they were stopped and detained. The four were detained at Mathura's Math toll plaza where the police were checking vehicles after receiving a tip off that some suspicious people were on their way to Hathras from Delhi.
The four were in a car and identified themselves as Atiq-ur Rehman of Muzaffarnagar, Siddique of Malappuram, Masood Ahmed of Bahraich and Alam of Rampur. Police officials told NDTV that their mobile phones, laptop and some literature, which could have an impact on peace and order, were seized.
During interrogation, it came to light that they had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associate organisation Campus Front of India (CFI), the police said, adding further their interrogation is underway.
The Popular Front of India (PFI), an alleged radical group, has been accused of funding certain protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that took place across the country earlier this year. The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier sought a ban on the organization.
Hathras has been in news after a 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped on September 14 in a village in the district and she succumbed to her injuries a fortnight later at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. Her hurried cremation in the dead of the night, allegedly without the parents' consent, created further outrage. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case on October 3.
