On Sunday, May 7, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) detained the former city president of Samajwadi Party, Abdul Khaliq Ansari, from Meerut for his alleged links with the banned terrorist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). Ansari lived in Bulandshahar for over 20 years and visited Meerut for treatment of his wife when ATS arrested him. The raids started on May 6 and continued for over a day. A Lucknow-based lawyer was also detained along with two PFI members with Rs 50,000 award on them.
Ansari continuously shifted from one party to another during his political career. Earlier, he was the city president of SP. Recently, he left SP and joined SDPI, the political wing of PFI. However, he left SDPI in a week and then joined the farmer union. His son claimed he has no connection to SDPI as he has already resigned from the party.
UP ATS action against PFI
Notably, UP ATS conducted state-wide raids on at least 30 locations spread over 20 districts on May 7. ATS field units from Noida, Meerut, Saharanpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Bahraich, Azamgarh, and Varanasi conducted the raids.
Uttar Pradesh | Raids are being conducted by UP ATS in Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad and other cities across the state, so far about 55 people have been detained. UP ATS is interrogating 55 people related to PFI and its affiliated…
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 7, 2023
They detained at least 70 people linked to PFI, including a 75-year-old activist and lawyer from Lucknow. The police also arrested two people with an award of Rs 50,000 each. They have been identified as Parvez Ahmad and Raees Ahmad.
Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested two people identified as Parvez Ahmed and Raees Ahmed, who were carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 each. Both the accused were absconding and were involved in spreading the radical ideology of the banned organization PFI in Varanasi:… pic.twitter.com/LCacLrl31s
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 7, 2023
In a statement, the police said, “The duo (Parvez and Raees) were spreading the PFI’s extremist ideology and had two other cases under sections 121-A (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) of the Indian Penal Code … During the time of CAA-NRC (protests), Raees Ahmad was in touch with PFI leaders from Assam and other states and was actively involved in anti-national activities.”
Raees was active during CAA-NRC protests in Assam and other states. Both accused have participated in PFI events in Delhi, UP, and Kerala, among other states. They also encouraged youth to join PFI and helped expand its roots nationwide. They consistently changed their locations and remained underground for long.
यूपी PFI कनेक्शन को लेकर ATS की बड़ी कार्रवाई
— News India (@newsindia24x7_) May 7, 2023
पूरे प्रदेश में ATS की 30 टीम कर रही छापेमारी#UPATS #UttarPradesh #Newsindia@Uppolice @Anchor_Charul pic.twitter.com/Cmafh5iqUX
The lawyer who was detained for questioning has been identified as Mohammad Shoaib, who is the founder of Rihai Manch, a platform that provides legal assistance to those who are accused of terror links. He was detained on Sunday morning and was released in the late evening after questioning. Following the action taken by the ATS, Shoaib’s wife filed a complaint at Aminabad Police Station. In her complaint, she alleged that around 12 people came and took away her husband. In a video statement, she said, “They said that he (Shoaib) had been called to the Aminabad police station for 10-15 minutes and will be released soon. Three people were in uniform, while seven were in civilian clothes. I can’t say who they were. He has not taken his medicines.”
Later, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, “He (Shoaib) has been taken for questioning in connection with action against the PFI. He will be released if he is not involved.” Notably, he has been detained by the police on several occasions earlier as well. He was booked for rioting by the police during anti-CAA-NRC protests on December 19, 2019, at Hazratganj Police Station. He was among the 28 people served notice by the UP government to pay damages worth Rs 63.37 lakhs in the Hazratganj area. He was arrested for rioting and released on bail after a month.
Police have reportedly identified around 211 people who have past associations with PFI in UP. In a statement, the police said the raids started on Saturday to take action against the suspects.
Out of 70 suspects detained by the ATS, 11 were from Shamli, ten from Ghaziabad, nine were from Lucknow, and eight were from Varanasi.
ATS said in a statement that the detained suspects are being questioned. The investigation agencies also looked into their social media activities and electronic gadgets. Further action will be taken based on the questioning and electronic evidence.
Ban on PFI
In September 2022, the Home Ministry under the Government of India banned PFI under UAPA. Since then, the security agencies have conducted multiple raids against PFI and arrested several cadre members concerning cases involving anti-India and terror activities.
