A latest dossier put together by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has shown the rising reach and power of the Popular Front of India ( PFI), the organisation at the centre of several ongoing probe being done by various agencies, ToI reported on October 21.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested KA Rauf Sherif, general secretary of the Campus Front of India (CFI), in December 2020, marking the beginning of a multi-agency investigation into the Popular Front of India (PFI). A dossier prepared by ED after a four-year probe detailed that PFI has numerous members and offices in states including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur.
PFI, banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2022 after an attempted attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July of that year, reportedly has 13,000 members in Singapore and five Gulf countries. According to the dossier, funds are collected in cash from "unknown donors" and sent to India through hawala channels. These funds are then deposited in 29 bank accounts of trusts and affiliated entities.
The investigation has led to the arrests of 26 top office bearers and the seizure of properties and bank accounts in India and abroad, with a terrorist camp uncovered in Kerala. The dossier also linked PFI to the Delhi riots, the Hathras unrest, and the attack attempt on PM Modi during a rally in Patna in July 2022.
Prominent arrests include Rauf Sherif of CFI, Shafeeque Payeth from Qatar, Delhi PFI president Perwez Ahmed, and Sahul Hameed, involved in hawala operations from Singapore. ED stated, "Real objectives of PFI include carrying out an Islamic movement in India through jihad, though PFI masquerades itself as a social movement. Evidence reveals that the methods of protest employed by them are violent in nature.”
An arms training camp was discovered in Narath, Kannur district in Kerala, where PFI was training its members in explosives and weapons under the guise of physical education classes. The financial investigation revealed that PFI and its affiliates have collected over Rs 94 crore. ED has attached 35 properties worth Rs 57 crore, labeling them as "proceeds of crime."
The group has been found active in countries like Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, where it generates most of its funds.
"PFI has formed well-defined district executive committees for the non-resident Muslim diaspora living in Gulf countries. It has been collecting money in India and abroad, and using it for terror activities in the country," ToI's report said citing statements by the agency.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested KA Rauf Sherif, general secretary of the Campus Front of India (CFI), in December 2020, marking the beginning of a multi-agency investigation into the Popular Front of India (PFI). A dossier prepared by ED after a four-year probe detailed that PFI has numerous members and offices in states including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur.
PFI, banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2022 after an attempted attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July of that year, reportedly has 13,000 members in Singapore and five Gulf countries. According to the dossier, funds are collected in cash from "unknown donors" and sent to India through hawala channels. These funds are then deposited in 29 bank accounts of trusts and affiliated entities.
The investigation has led to the arrests of 26 top office bearers and the seizure of properties and bank accounts in India and abroad, with a terrorist camp uncovered in Kerala. The dossier also linked PFI to the Delhi riots, the Hathras unrest, and the attack attempt on PM Modi during a rally in Patna in July 2022.
Prominent arrests include Rauf Sherif of CFI, Shafeeque Payeth from Qatar, Delhi PFI president Perwez Ahmed, and Sahul Hameed, involved in hawala operations from Singapore. ED stated, "Real objectives of PFI include carrying out an Islamic movement in India through jihad, though PFI masquerades itself as a social movement. Evidence reveals that the methods of protest employed by them are violent in nature.”
An arms training camp was discovered in Narath, Kannur district in Kerala, where PFI was training its members in explosives and weapons under the guise of physical education classes. The financial investigation revealed that PFI and its affiliates have collected over Rs 94 crore. ED has attached 35 properties worth Rs 57 crore, labeling them as "proceeds of crime."
The group has been found active in countries like Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, where it generates most of its funds.
"PFI has formed well-defined district executive committees for the non-resident Muslim diaspora living in Gulf countries. It has been collecting money in India and abroad, and using it for terror activities in the country," ToI's report said citing statements by the agency.
You may also like
BJP makes history: With 10 crore members, party now eyes 11 crore plus target by yearend
Moradabad Crime: First he befriended a girl on Facebook and then called her to meet and recorded her pornographic video, kept threatening to leak it, and then...
Mum of two fighting for life in coma after 'bad fall' on holiday with her family
SC stays NCPCR recommendation to shut govt-funded Madrasas for non-compliance with RTE
Lautaro becomes top foreign scorer in Inter Milan's history
