Lucknow, May 07 (Hindustan Times). Around 70 people suspected of belonging to the Islamic fundamentalist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) have been detained by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) teams from different districts of Uttar Pradesh. The confidentiality of this action regarding anti-national activity has been maintained.
According to the information received from the ATF headquarters, even after the PFI was banned in India in the year 2022, the people associated with it were operating the activities. Based on all the evidence, 211 suspects linked to PFI were identified in different districts of Uttar Pradesh. After this, raids were conducted by activating the field units of ATS including Noida, Saharanpur, Meerut, Moradabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, making ATS Additional Superintendent of Police (East) the nodal officer. For this raid 30 special teams were formed.
In continuation of the action taken against the eight accused arrested in the past, during this ongoing secret campaign, two criminals with a reward of 50 thousand each, Parvez Ahmed and Raees Ahmed, wanted in the case filed in Lohta police station of Varanasi Commissionerate, have also been arrested. In this action taken so far, about 70 suspected persons have been taken to the police station for questioning.
Nine from Lucknow, 10 from Ghaziabad, eight from Varanasi, 11 from Shamli, five from Bijnor, four from Meerut, three each from Muzaffarnagar, Barabanki, Azamgarh, two from Deoria, Bahraich, Kanpur Nagar were killed during the action taken in the entire state. Two more suspects have been picked up one each from Sitapur, Balrampur, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Rampur and Amroha.
STS teams are interrogating all these suspects thoroughly. Data analysis of electronic gadgets is being done to know about anti-national activities and their social media activities. Further action will be taken on the basis of inquiry and data analysis.
It is worth mentioning that taking joint action at the state level by ATS and other associate units, charges were registered against 21 active members associated with the banned organization in Meerut, Barabanki, Varanasi, Lucknow, Aligarh and Ayodhya districts. Along with taking continuous action, action was taken against about 132 suspects on the basis of evidence. Satisfied with the effective lobbying and evidence presented by the UP ATS in the specially constituted tribunal, the ban on PFI and its eight affiliated organizations was justified.
