The Popular Front of India which was banned by the Union Home Ministry due to the extreme radical ideology it followed is back in the news. With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attaching properties belonging to the PFI worth Rs 35.43 crore, several murky details about the banned outfit have started to come out. The outfit was banned in September 2022.
The investigations found that the PFI had indulged in various activities to further its cause. The probe shows that it was actively running training camps in the forests of Kerala and Karnataka. Despite several warnings regarding this, no government took any action to curb its activities, the investigations have also found.
The PFI which was always violent in its approach was planning on setting up even more gory mechanisms in a bid to target Hindus across the country. Its hit squads were operational and were involved in the killing of Hindu leaders. The PFI had a direct involvement in the killing of RSS worker, Rudresh in Bengaluru, the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan among others. It was further revealed that the outfit had hired gym instructors as part of its hit squad and based on the instructions of the PFI’s Dawah courts, the Dawah squad or hit squad would operate.
The PFI’s intention was very clear in India. It wanted to start a civil war the investigations have found. The outfit was gearing up for a massive offensive on Indian soil which included aerial operations, ground warfare and the imposition of the Sharia law through which it proposed to torture people who did not follow its style of Islam.
The probe also revealed that the real intention of the PFI was to set up an Islamic rule in India by overthrowing the nationalist BJP government at the Centre. The prime agenda was to overthrow the government and run its own style Islamic set up in the country.One such example of this was how it orchestrated the violent protests during the anti Citizenship Amendment Act by misguiding the people that the law would affect the citizenship of the Indian Muslims. The law was enforced only to speed up the citizenship process for the persecuted minorities in the Islamic nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Further the PFI also played a direct role in the Delhi riots.
Another aspect that came to light during the probe is that the outfit had a well designed mechanism to cover its activities. It told people in public that it was working for the welfare of the Muslim community. Under this garb, it radicalised the Muslim youth and trained them in the use of arms, while claiming that it was only imparting physical education.
The training programmes of the PFI was in different stages. In the mainland, it imparted basic training to the youth. Following, it moved to the next stage of sending them to the forests where they underwent training in guerrilla warfare. This was the last phase of the training, following which the cadres were told to await instructions from the Dawah court. The court would then send these persons a list of persons to be targeted, following which the hit would be carried out.
The investigations further found that the PFI had played an all important role in radicalising and converting many youth before making them join the Islamic State. It is a documented fact that as many as 21 persons from Kerala who were converted and highly radicalised joined the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
An official investigating the case tells Organiser that during the course of the probe, they realised that although the outfit had been banned, there is a plan in place to continue with its activities underground. It also has set a plan in motion to revive the outfit in a new name just as the Students Islamic Movement of India following its ban re-emerged as the Indian Mujahideen. To be sure that the PFI still has its political wing active which operates under the name of the SDPI. This is the same party that offered its electoral support to the United Democratic Front in Kerala. The SDPI state president Moovattupuzha Ashraf Moulavi had said in April that it would not field any candidates, but would support the UDF in 20 constituencies, an announcement that drew flak from the BJP.
The PFI had not just recruited in India. It had more than 13,000 cadres operating abroad in countries such as Gulf, Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was learnt that these persons were tasked with propagating the ideology of the PFI. They were also tasked with raising funds and sending it across to Kerala where the outfit was headquartered. During the probe by the NIA, it was learnt that these foreign operatives were tasked with operating the hawala module through which they would send money to India.
The ED explained in a statement, ‘some of the methods of protest used by them as found during investigation are explained as under: Steps for preparation for a Civil War by creating unrest and strife in the society that includes Non-violent air raids, Guerrilla Theater, Alternative Communication Systems etc. Methods of cruelty and subjugation include Haunting Officials, Taunting Officials, Fraternization, Mock Funerals, Interdict, Lysistratic Non-Action (Lysistratic non-action is to withhold sex from someone in order to achieve something) etc. Methods employed for undermining unity and sovereignty of the nation which include Civil Disobedience of Laws, Dual sovereignty, parallel Government, disclosing identities of secret agents.’
Further it has been learnt that the PFI was in the process of setting up a 20 member hit squad in every district of the country. The physical training camps were being under in full vigour in a bid to achieve this feat. The hit squads would be activated on the directions of the Dawah courts, following which these members would carry out targeted killings. It was also found that these hit squads comprised gym trainers, reporters. The reporters would go to events under the pretext of covering the same. Their job was to listen in to the speeches and then report it to their bosses. During one such probe it was found that one Mohammad Sadiq from Kollam district in Kerala had prepared a list of non-Muslim leaders and was passing on the information to the hit squad.
The agencies are keeping a close watch on the PFI and have learnt that all attempts are being made to revive the outfit. The prime target of the PFI is the RSS and BJP and anyone who speaks in favour of the Hindu cause. While the agencies such as the National Investigation Agency and Enforcement have a perfect grip over the investigations on the ground, the worry for them is the activities that the group is undertaking in remote places and especially the forest areas. There is a need to keep a close watch on them said an official with the NIA. Going by the structure and kind of funding apart from the political support they enjoy from various political outfits and pseudo liberals, it is necessary that a close watch ought to be kept on them, the NIA official also noted.
