How would you feel if you were told that an anti-nationalist, Hindu-hating, armed outfit is already operational in twenty-three states in India? Popular Front of India, and it won’t be at all incorrect to say, is the Indian version of ISIS for it has been sending youths to ISIS and it has been operating in a way that befits a terrorist organization.
In 2014, Kerala government informed the High Court about 27 communally motivated murder cases, 86 attempts to murder cases and 106 communal cases with PFI’s active involvement in all of them.
A timeline of PFI’s dark history – tip of an iceberg
–> In 2010, Karnataka’s Shimoga faced violence during rallies held by Popular Front of India, which resulted in the death of two persons. Popular Front of India activists were arrested for the murder of Vishwanath Shetty. Later it was proved that the second killing had was related with Popular front.
–> Two boys Sudheendra and Vignesh were kidnapped on 8 June 2011 from Mahajan College premises in Mysore and murdered by members of Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), who sought ransom of 5 crore rupees to raise funds for their organization.
–> In 2012, PFI activists killed N. Sachin Gopal and Vishal, both ABVP activists.
–> PFI was also involved in the 2012 Mass SMS Campaign against the North East people after the 2012 Assam riots.
–> In 2012, the Kerala government informed the Kerala High Court in an affidavit, that Popular Front of India had active involvement in 27 murder cases, mostly of cadres of CPI-M and RSS.
–> The PFI was involved in the murders of Hindu political faces like Prashant Poojari, DS Kutappa, Manjunath, Sharath Madiwula, etc.
–> In April 2013, Kerala Police have raided a training camp held at Narath, Kannur and arrested 21 activists of the Popular Front of India. Two country-made bombs, a sword, raw materials for making bombs, pamphlets in the name of PFI were seized by the police.
–> In July 2016, more than 100 PFI activists organized a protest rally in Sahebgunj in support of the venom-spreading extremist Dr. Zakir Naik and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi. In Patna too, the PFI activists took out protest rally in support of Zakir Naik and raised pro-Pakistan slogan.
–> In 2018, the PFI also called for poisoning the Kumbha waters to kill Hindus in large numbers.
The Government is now determined on banning this terrorist outfit
The Union Home Ministry has already started meetings with the top officials and is looking at all the possible routes that will help ban PFI. At a DGP meet held at Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh [Annual Conference of DGPs and IGPs from all over the country], Kerala’s officials made a detailed presentation on the activities of PFI.
In September 2017, the National Investigation Agency had submitted a report on the PFI to the ministry, claiming that the group has been involved in terror acts, including running terror camps and making bombs, and it was a fit case to be declared banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The ministry has also taken into consideration following four cases cited by the NIA on the same issue:
–> Chopping of a professor’s hand in Kerala’s Idukki – A special NIA court had convicted 13 PFI activists for chopping off the right palm of a professor called T. J. Joseph in 2010. The group said an exam he conducted included a question blaspheming Islam.
–> Training camp in Kannur from where swords and bombs were seized – In 2013, Kannur police raided an alleged weapons training centre run by the PFI and seized two country-made bombs sword, human-shaped wooden target, ingredients for making crude IEDs such as gun powder and iron nails were recovered from the premises. The intention behind the camp was to prepare the cadres for terror activities.
–> Murder of RSS leader Rudresh in Bengaluru – Rudresh’s throat was slit in broad day light in Bengaluru by PFI. NIA had filed a charge-sheet against five PFI activists including the Bangalore district head of PFI Mr. Azim Sheriff.
–> Islamic State Al-Hindi Module case – The NIA dossier claimed PFI affiliate Sathyasarani Islamic Dawah Institute or Markazul Hidya headquartered at Manjeri, Kerala, was functioning virtually as a religious conversion center where “inmates were subjected to rigorous religious training and until their conversion to Islam is over, they were not permitted to have any interaction with people outside”.
Another charge levelled by the NIA is that the organization has clandestinely collected funds from various frontal and religious forums based in Gulf countries like India Fraternity Forum (IFF) and Muslim Relief Network (MRN).
With Karnataka state elections near the corner, the BJP has accused Congress of withdrawing several cases against PFI after it was found involved in multiple cases in the state.
NIA has also stated about PFI being radical in nature and is hiring only Muslims in the organization what the latter claims is an NGO. The NIA further claimed that the PFI cadres are being shown clips of Babri masjid demolition as a part of their routine training adding to a radical mentality and their involvement in increasing number of love jihaad cases.
After the NSI submitting a report to Home Ministry about PFI’s unlawful activities towards in September, 2017, the government has been closely observing all the activities of this organization which was set to run a military-parallel group. The government organized a Janaraksha yatra in Kerala the very next month in October. It involved exhibiting the number of BJP-RSS workers hacked to death, mostly by PFI and multiple rallies by Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states. With the recent meeting of Prime Minister with police officials last week, the government looks all set to ban the PFI. Any organization or group affecting the harmony of nation should meet a similar fate and strictest action should be taken against all its members.