The Popular Front of India (PFI) as well as any related or connected factions were immediately banned on September 27 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, by the provisions of Section 3’s sub-section (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, for a period of five years. This prohibition, however, was not enacted on the basis of cursory inquiry and conjecture. A series of events unfolded during investigations by agencies leading to the ban on PFI. Here is a chronology of events leading to the ban, based on a report by Dainik Bhaskar.
A WhatsApp forward to Police in Bihar
On June 10, 2022, Ekrar Ahmed, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Phulwari Sharif, Patna, received a leaflet over WhatsApp at his official mobile number. It read, “Shame on you, you should die! Mere meat-eating Muslims, when will you become real Muslims? When will you speak on the glory of the prophet? Muslims all over the world are raising their voice. When will you raise your voice? Will you just remain dead? Remember, tomorrow when Allah Ta’ala asks you a question, what will you answer and show your face to your Lord? Reach Jama Masjid Naya Tola on Namaz-e-Juma, 10/06/22 and prove Ishk-e-Rasool.”
Following this, an FIR was filed on June 11, 2022, in accordance with sections 153A, 295, 295A, 120B, and 34 of the IPC, based on the written statement of SHO Ekrar Ahmed. The SHO said that by spreading the document online, there was a plan to sow discord between the communities, ruin the ambience, and incite a riot.
Assassination plot of PM Modi
After filing the FIR, the police abandoned the matter and no further inquiry was conducted. On July 12, 2022, it was announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Patna and Deoghar. After agencies went on high alert, the police began looking into that booklet. Concerning this, the Ahmed Palace of Naya Tola of Phulwari Sharif was raided on the evening of July 10. Here begins the countdown to PFI being banned.
It was discovered that Athar Parvez and Mohammad Jalaluddin, a former sub-inspector from the Jharkhand Police, were running an organisation there. They used to instruct less educated and misled Muslim students to use weapons and to engage in terrorist action by bringing them into touch with them. Both were arrested on the same day.
Their statements resulted in the uncovering of anti-India documents. Their objective was not only to eliminate Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also the entire country’s system. These individuals also prepared a seven-page action plan for the plot to convert India into a Muslim nation. Mission 2047 was the name given to it. “By 2047, when the country would be celebrating 100 years of independence, India must be made an Islamic republic,” it was proclaimed. It is also mentioned in the plan that if 10% of Muslims embrace it, the majority will fall to their knees. So yet, no mention of PFI or SDPI had appeared in the case.
On the 13th of July, following the Prime Minister’s visit, Patna Police organizes a media briefing and announces the arrest of these two. During interrogation, Athar Parvez and Jalaluddin both open their mouths. On July 14, Armaan Malik is apprehended at Phulwari Sharif based on the statements by Parvez and Jalaluddin. It has also been revealed that the detained Jalaluddin was a member of the banned terrorist group SIMI and is now a member of PFI. During interrogation, it was discovered that they were associating former SIMI members with PFI. This is the point at which the probe needle turns towards the PFI.
Ghazwa-e-Hind
Meanwhile, another arrest happens on July 15th. Margub Ahmed Danish alias Tahir gets detained based on IB intel. The Ghazwa-e-Hind WhatsApp group and its worldwide links appear on his phone. The case piqued the interest of intelligence services, and the probe was accelerated. The ATS of several states, as well as major investigation agencies, convene, and the plans are steadily scrutinized from top to bottom.
On July 15, a special squad of Patna Police searches the SDPI’s office in Patna’s Sabzibagh locality. Evidence of PFI’s anti-national operations was unearthed here as well, and the scope rapidly expanded. After scanning the whole PFI network, their monitoring began in 20 states and over 100 cities.
The majority of states, including Karnataka, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh, found indications that PFI and SIMI were connected. Along with the Gulf nations, the subject of accepting donations from significant Muslim-owned enterprises in the nation was brought up.
Not only were raids conducted in Sabzibagh, but also in Phulwari Sharif, Exhibition Road, and ten other places. Raids also took place in Nalanda, Chhapra, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga, East Champaran, Katihar, Araria, and Kishanganj in addition to Patna.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) apprehended Nooruddin Jangi from Lucknow on July 16 at the request of the Bihar Police. Jangi was also one of the 26 persons identified in the FIR.
Praveen Nettaru, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s district secretary, was killed on July 26 in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The problem was serious since PFI had been charged for days with starting the Karnataka hijab case from scratch.
Following this, the investigation was intensified, and ten facilities in Bihar were raided on July 28. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted 10 raids in the districts of Patna, Darbhanga, East Champaran, Nalanda, and Madhubani to further analyze the case. Digital equipment and incriminating papers were discovered during raids on the residences of three suspects in Darbhanga, Nooruddin, Sanaullah, and Mustaqeem.
Planning to Ban PFI
Following the discovery of evidence of alleged PFI linkages in multiple states, an action plan was devised on August 4 during a visit to Bengaluru by Home Minister Amit Shah. He had gone there to take part in a program. Following the event, Amit Shah met with Karnataka CM Basava Raj Bommai and state Home Minister Araga Gyanendra.
It was resolved during this meeting to devise a strategy to outlaw PFI. After three days, on August 7th, a team was created to work on the strategy. Some key officials from Delhi and Karnataka, as well as intelligence personnel, were included in the action team. In addition, the Central Government created a list of officials from around the country who had previously been involved in the investigation of such sensitive cases.
The same squad fought PFI on three fronts, not only in Karnataka but throughout the country. The primary goal of the team was to compile such documents against PFI that could be utilised to counter its aspirations on both a national and international scale. The three fronts were mapping the network of PFI, finding out the sources of the funding, and revisiting and investigating the incidents having a PFI connection.
Series of raids across the length and breadth of the nation
On September 8, raids were carried out at 32 locations across 10 districts in Bihar. This encompassed Vaishali, Madhubani, Chhapra, Araria, Aurangabad, Kishanganj, Nalanda, and Jehanabad, in addition to Patna’s Phulwari Sharif. The residence of SDPI state general secretary Ehsan Parvez was also searched by the NIA. PFI District President Reyaz Ahmed’s home in Vaishali was also raided. The investigators interrogated Reyaz Ahmed’s relatives in Chapra. Raids were carried out at the home of SDPI state president Shamim Akhtar in the Khasganj neighbourhood of Nalanda’s Sohsarai police station area.
In a case involving the Popular Front of India’s (PFI) involvement in “anti-national activities,” the National Investigation Agency also conducted searches in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district and Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district. During this time, significant material, including digital devices and papers, was discovered during searches of the suspects’ dwellings.
Following this, on September 22, the NIA and ED conducted major raids at 93 sites across 15 states. It was termed Operation Octopus. 106 members of PFI and its associated outfits were apprehended during the sweeping searches.
PFI announced bandh in numerous states, including Kerala, after raids in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha, and Rajasthan. Buses and cars were damaged, and there was widespread violence. This demonstrated that the roots of PFI were deep.
The ED stated in the remand note of PFI worker Shafiq Pythe, who was detained from Kozhikode, that a conspiracy was devised to assault the Prime Minister’s rally in Patna on July 12, with Shafiq Pythe sponsoring it. According to the investigative agency, the group reportedly set up a training camp to prepare assailants to assassinate the PM.
On September 27, the same routine was replicated, and 127 persons were detained. During operations on September 22 and 27, the NIA, ED, and state police made 278 arrests and gathered evidence. Meanwhile, the investigative authorities had gathered substantial evidence against PFI.
Under UAPA, the national government outlawed PFI for 5 years on September 28. This action was conducted against eight more organisations in addition to PFI. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated in its statement that proof of a terror nexus had been discovered against every organisation.
According to the government, the individuals of PFI and its linked groups acquired finances from India and overseas via banking channels, hawala, and charity, among other methods. It was all part of their premeditated criminal plot. Small sums from this fund were transferred to other accounts, establishing its legitimacy. However, it was used in nefarious, illegal, and terrorist activities.
PFI’s methods of transferring funds to bank accounts likewise do not correspond to the account holder’s profile. The actions that PFI claimed to have carried out using this fund were also not carried out. Following this, the Income Tax Department cancelled the registration of PFI and Rehab India Foundation.
Infiltration of RSS
OpIndia has reported on PFI’s efforts to infiltrate the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Around 50 members were being trained by PFI instructors. The UP STF got evidence from PFI operatives Mohd Faizan, Mohd Sufian, and Rehan’s WhatsApp and PC after they were nabbed in the early hours of Tuesday from Anchramau in Lucknow.
During questioning by intelligence officials, detainees Faizan, Sufiyan, and Rehan confessed that the main purpose of this PFI infiltration was to keep an eye on RSS operations and get classified information. The information was then to be transmitted to Islamic nations through their masters.
PFI had an extensive network spanning 23 states, and as a result, its roots were deepening across the nation. Even the security forces were ignorant of the dirty game being played under the garb of politics and the Jamaat. Phulwari was the starting point for the end of PFI. Following this, searches were conducted around the country, and after the discovery of the plan to make India an Islamic country, 8 groups associated with it, including PFI, was banned.
The ban on PFI was not unexpected. For its anti-national activities and affiliations with terror organisations like ISIS, it was already a banned organisation in Jharkhand. The NIA had also suggested a ban on the PFI in a report it had delivered to the Union minister of home affairs in 2017. States such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka also lobbied for the same.
