Ranchi. The Jharkhand government on Tuesday banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) in the state to curb its anti-national activities and for keeping links with terror outfits like ISIS, a government notification said.
The Jharkhand government on February 12 banned the Islamic terrorist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) for its links with the Islamic State (IS) under Section 16 of The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908.
The notification says that becoming a member of PFI, giving donation or keeping literature of its extremist policy or publishing them is illegal. The decision to ban PFI has been taken after a review that its activities have increased and is dangerous to the state and the nation and it has the power to disrupt peace, communal harmony and secular structure, an official said.
The PFI has been involved in spreading social division, anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans, links with ISIS and JMB, the notification said.
“The PFI is very active in Pakur district. The members of the PFI, which was set up in Kerala, are influenced by the IS. According to Home Department report, some PFI members have even gone to Syria from southern states and are working for the IS.” This is not the first time the PFI was banned in the state. On February 20, last year, the BJP government had banned the Islamic terrorist outfit for its connections with the Islamic State. However, in August 2018, the High Court had set aside the government’s decision.
The Popular Front of India hit the headlines recently for brutally killing a Dalit activist Ramalingam in Tamil Nadu after he raised reasonable objections against forceful religious conversions. After initial apathy, police arrested five members of the PFI in connection with the murder.
