Lucknow. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted a thorough investigation by raiding nine locations of active members of the banned organization Popular Front of India (PFI) in six cities including Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur. Many documents have also been captured.
PFI and its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI) have a deep network in the state. When NIA conducted investigation in six states on Wednesday, cities of Uttar Pradesh were also included in it.
NIA raided early in the morning in Lucknow
NIA investigated in Madeyganj area of Lucknow, while Dr. Abrar Hussain, resident of Moolganj, Kanpur and others were interrogated at length. A thorough investigation was also conducted in Gorakhpur. The raid took place in Lucknow early on Wednesday.
At five in the morning, the team knocked on four houses including that of retired medical officer Dr. Khwaja in Madeyganj. After the raid that lasted for about six hours, mobile phones, diaries, radical literature and other documents were seized.
After reaching the house of Dr. Khawaja and Maulana Jamil, Master Shamim and Anees living in his locality, NIA interrogated them for hours. According to sources, evidence has been found that all four are associated with Wahdat-e-Islami organization.
detained a person
They used to distribute fundamentalist religious meetings and literature in madrassas, mosques and Musafir Khanas in Saharanpur including Lucknow, Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Apart from this, a person was detained near the house of PFI Treasurer Nadeem in Bahrauli Majre Gauhar village of Kursi police station area in Barabanki.
In Bhadohi, NIA team from Lucknow and Bihar raided Shoaib Alam’s house on Maryadpatti Mamdevpur Road and the office of his Data Hill Travel Agency at Azimulla intersection. The team seized Shoaib’s mobile phone, two SIM cards installed in it, monthly magazine Vahdat and a receipt book printed in the name of Taha Trust in the year 2018.
External passport received from home
Shoaib and family members were also interrogated. When asked about Dr. Khawaja of Guidance Publications, which publishes Wahdat, Shoaib said that he has known him for a long time. Told that meetings take place during conferences in Madrassas. Passports of some outsiders were also found in the house. Shoaib told that he is a member of UP Haj Committee and also works to get passports made for those going for Haj.
Ubaidur Rahman’s house in Babhani Mafi village of Dumariyaganj in Siddharthnagar was also searched. Taking Ubaidur Rahman along, the team reached the book shop located in Dumariyaganj. Where the entire shop was searched and many books were seized. The team also reached the house of Dr. Abrar, resident of Makhania Bazaar, Bisatkhana of Mulganj police station area in Kanpur.
The team interrogated for about 10 hours
The team interrogated the doctor and his two sons. Later he was interrogated for about 10 hours at Moolganj police station. He was released in the afternoon. Dr. Abrar is suspected of feeding PFI. NIA has inquired about his financial sources.
In the year 2019, after the disturbance in the city regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, the police arrested five PFI members from Babupurwa police station and sent them to jail. At that time also Abrar was detained and interrogated. Although even then he was released.
The network of banned organization PFI is deepening in UP
Last year, NIA had arrested active members of PFI in Phulwari Sharif area of Patna (Bihar). The documents recovered from them revealed a deep conspiracy being hatched to make India an Islamic nation in the year 2047. NIA is investigating in this connection.
Sources say that PFI members were also funding this conspiracy. PFI has very deep roots in UP. PFI’s role was also revealed in the violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In the same case, PFI state president Wasim Ahmed and other active members were arrested in Lucknow.
Was arrested in Hathras incident
After the murder of a girl in Hathras in the year 2020, Mathura Police arrested PFI National Treasurer Atiqur Rahman, CFI General Secretary Masood Ahmed, alleged journalist Siddiq Kappan and Mu on charges of conspiracy to incite caste and communal violence in the state. Alam was arrested.
Later, STF also arrested CFI National General Secretary K A Rauf Sharif in the same case. In the year 2021, STF had arrested PFI training commander Rashid from Basti. The role of PFI’s affiliate organizations has also been under scrutiny.