PFI banned for five years over terror links
After two rounds of nationwide raids and arrests of over 240 members of Popular Front Of India (PFI) in a week, the centre late last night banned the outfit for five years over alleged terror activities.
The PFI and its affiliate organisations have been declared an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the government said, citing the outfit’s links with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Islamic State or ISIS, and said the PFI is involved in several criminal and terror cases.
The now banned outfit has been accused of raising funds, from both India and abroad, through hawala and donations as part of a “well-crafted criminal conspiracy”. “With funds and ideological support from outside, it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country,” said a Home Ministry order.
The ministry said the PFI has been involved in violent acts like, “chopping off the hand of a college professor in Kerala and cold-blooded killings of people associated with organisations espousing other faiths.”