On Saturday (June 4), the Assam police informed that they have registered 16 cases against the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and 2 cases against its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI). The police have also found evidence that PFI has closaed ties with Bangladesh based terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team.
While speaking about the matter, Additional Director General of Police Hiren Nath informed that a charge sheet has been filed in 12 cases while the investigation is underway for the remaining cases.
“On April 15, we registered a case in Barpeta district in which some (16) ABT activists were arrested. One of them was Maqibul Hussain. During the interrogation, Hussain surrendered that he was the president of PFI of Barpeta district,” he stated.
“Before joining Ansarullah Bangla Team he was actively working for PFI in the lower Assam, but later resigned to join the said group where he was trained by Mehdi Hasan,” Nath emphasised. It must be mentioned that the Ansarullah Bangla Team is a terror outfit, inspired by Al-Qaeda, and based in Bangladesh.
According to Assam Police, several PFI workers in the State are also working for the Islamic terror organisation. As per the Additional Director General of Police, PFI is active in 10 districts in the State.
Hiren Nath informed that the police are keeping a close eye on its activities. He added that the Islamic outfit has a habit of raking sensitive issues, unrelated to Assam, to provoke religious sentiments.
He said, “One of the modus operandi of this group or the workers is that anything happening anywhere in the country which does not even have any connection with Assam–may be some Hijab issue or some temples, mosques– they will demonstrate it here, especially in the lower Assam region, including Guwahati city, Goalpara, Barpeta, Baksa, Dhubri and some parts of the Barak Valley.”
The police officer further added that the Islamist group uses any issue involving minorities to as means of provocation. “Anything relating to a minority community, it may be a road accident, it may a quarrel between two groups, it may be misunderstanding, it may be investigation of a case by law enforcement agencies, they try to term it as an attack on the minority community”, Hiren Nath said.
According to Hiren Nath, the police have recovered PFI pamphlets in Bengali and Arabic, literature propagating Jihad and printing materials inscribed with anti-national slogans. He assured, “If anyone tries to disturb the social peace and tranquillity, or take the law into their hands, we will take very strong action against them.”
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma asked the Centre to ban PFI
In February this year, the chief minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the Assam government had asked the centre to impose an immediate and complete ban on the Popular Front of India(PFI).
Sarma, however, added that the request was made not because of PFI’s stand on the hijab row but for their direct involvement in ‘subversive activities and radicalisation’.
“Assam has demanded an immediate complete ban on PFI (Popular Front of India) from the central govt, not because of the hijab issue, it’s their democratic right, but because of their direct involvement with subversive activities & radicalisation,” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
