NEW DELHI: The banned Popular Front of India or PFI has 13,000 members in Singapore and the Gulf countries including Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE who are allegedly tasked with collection of funds, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement on Friday after attaching assets worth ₹56 crore linked to the outfit.
The financial crimes agency also said the funds collected by these PFI members were allegedly transferred to India through circuitous banking routes and illegal hawala channels.
The ministry of home affairs banned the PFI and its eight affiliate organisations under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on September 28, 2022 l, after a nationwide crackdown by ED and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Centre has alleged the outfit was fueling radicalisation and was involved in terror funding in the country.
ED has arrested 26 members including senior office bearers of PFI since 2021 and filed nine charge sheets.
Releasing details of PFI’s presence abroad after two years of investigation, ED’s statement on Friday said: “Investigation has revealed that PFI had more than 13,000 active members in Singapore and Gulf countries including Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. PFI has formed well defined District Executive Committees (DECs) for the Non resident Muslim diaspora living in the Gulf Countries, which was tasked with collection of funds. Each DEC was given target of several crores of rupees for funds collection. The funds which were raised abroad were transferred to India through circuitous banking channels, as well as through underground hawala channels so that their origins could not be traced and thereafter handed over to PFI and its office bearers to finance their terrorist and unlawful activities.”
“PFI claimed use of non-violent forms of protest but evidence reveal that the methods of protest employed by them are violent in nature” the statement added.
The statement also listed what were described as the methods of protest used by PFI: “Steps for preparation for a Civil War by creating unrest and strife in the society, which includes Non-violent air raids, Guerrilla Theater, Alternative Communication Systems. It added that PFI also adopted methods of of cruelty and subjugation, which included haunting and taunting officials, Fraternisation, Mock Funerals, Interdict, Lysistratic Non-Action (Lysistratic non-action is to withhold sex from someone in order to achieve something) etc”.
Among the methods allegedly used by PFI to undermine the unity and sovereignty of the country were “civil disobedience of laws, dual sovereignty, and parallel government, disclosing identities of secret agents etc”.
The agency also claimed PFI was giving arms training under the garb of physical education (PE) classes for imparting offensive and defensive manoeuvres using different variations of blows, punches, kicks, knife and stick attacks. “These classes were carried out on the properties registered under dummy owners’ names. Interestingly, PFI does not have a single property registered in its own name,” it added.
The agency has identified total proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹94 crore.
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