Guwahati: Assam police on June 9 arrested two absconding members of the proscribed radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).
Two more PFI members were arrested from the Shalbari area in the Baksa district. The arrested PFI members were identified as Ruhul Amin Ahmed (34) and Tota Mia (36).
The arrested PFI members have been absconding since the anti-PFI raid launched by the police in September 2022. They were arrested on the basis of a case (129/22) registered at Govardhana police station for involvement in anti-national activities. It should be mentioned that National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Assam police have arrested over 100 PFI leaders and members since the nationwide crackdown started against the radical Islamist organisation in September 2022.
On May 16, 2023, a member of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) was arrested in Assam’s Kamrup district by the Special Operations Team of Assam Police. The arrested individual had been identified as Abdul Razak Ali.
On April 8, 2023, the Assam Police arrested three leaders of the banned terror- outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and Campus Front of India (CFI) in Barpeta, Assam.
The police also found a pamphlet affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), a sum of Rs 1.5 lakhs, along with four mobile phones in possession. The accused belonging to the PFI were Zahidul Islam, Zakir Hussain and Abu Sama.
On April 24, two cadres of the banned radical Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested in Assam’s Dhubri district. Police said that both of them had been absconding since September last year.
The duo has been identified as Saiful Islam of Dhubri and Shafiqul Islam of Gauripur. Based on specific information, police launched a secret operation and nabbed both of them on April 24.
On September 22, 2022, in a first-ever major search operation by the national security agencies, a joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police forces arrested a total of 10 PFI leaders from different locations in Assam including Barpeta, Baksa, Karimganj and Nagaon. A total of 6 arrests have been made in Guwahati under the Kamrup district.
On September 27, 2022, Assam Police arrested 25 members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from eight districts of the state on charges of trying to foment communal strife in the state by criticising Government policies.
The PFI has been active in Assam since 2017. A total of 18 cases of anti-national and criminal activities, including creating law and order situations during the Anti-CAA protest in 2019, were registered against PFI in Assam. 101 members of the banned organisation have been arrested so far by Assam police and NIA. Police have filed charge sheets in 12 cases, and the remaining cases are under investigation.
