New Delhi: Following the second phase of Mission Octopus under which the functionaries if PFI were raided, the Ministry of Home Affairs has banned the radical outfit for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), The ban has also been imposed on the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala- the associates of the “unlawful association” – as declared by centre.
“With funds and ideological support from outside, it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country,” said a Home Ministry order.
During the raids the central agencies have reported to gather incriminating documents and materials that hinted association with several criminal and terror cases.
According to sources, a guide on how to make an improvised explosive device (IED) was recovered from PFI leaders Mohd Nadeem from Barabanki and Ahmed Beg Nadwi from Khadra in Uttar Pradesh. The document is titled ‘A short course on how to make IEDs using easily available materials’. The document also calls to “fight and slay the pagan wherever you find them”. Two handheld radio and a navgitor with GPS Lowrance LHR-80 were found at the residence of Barakathulla, the district president of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu. Apart from this the cash from several other leaders was recovered.
PFI leaders and functionaries across 15 states were first raided on September 22, in a coordinated move by National Investigating Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state police, leading to over 100 arrests. The second round of nationwide crackdown on the organisation was carried out yesterday. A total of 247 arrests have been made so far.