In the two chargesheets filed today, various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, and the Arms Act of 1959 were used to charge the defendants.

In the September 2022 Kerala case, the Special Court for NIA Cases in Ernakulam has filed a chargesheet against the PFI as an organisation and 58 other accused persons. After taking over the case in 2022, the NIA apprehended sixteen of the accused, while the remainder were apprehended by Kerala Police.

The Kerala Chargesheet was submitted after the NIA conducted searches at over one hundred locations throughout the state. During the course of its investigation, the NIA has also attached 17 properties deemed to be “proceeds of terrorism” and seized 18 bank accounts belonging to the accused.

Investigations in the case revealed that the accused conspired to drive a wedge between different communities and groups residing in India, to spread the concept of violent extremism and Jihad in India, and to establish Islamic Rule in India by 2047, according to the chargesheet.

PFI established various Wings and divisions, such as the ‘Reporters Wing,’ the ‘Physical and Arms Training Wing,’ and the ‘Service Teams,’ to accomplish these goals. Under the pretext of Physical Education, Yoga Training, etc., the NIA discovered that PFI was using its various Campuses, facilities, and infrastructure to provide arms training to selected cadres.

To eradicate their “targets,” they also established a “Reporters Wing” and “Service Teams or Hit Teams.” As ‘executors’ of the Orders pronounced by their parallel Courts, referred to as ‘Dar-ul-Qaza’, PFI pressed into service its loyal and highly trained personnel of their ‘Service Teams’ when necessary.

Abdul Sathar State General Secretary, Yahiya Koya Thangal State Executive Member (SEC) Member, Shihas MH Ernakulam Zonal Secretary, along with District Secretaries/President Sainudhen TS, Sadik AP, CT Sulaiman, and PK Usman State General Secretary SDPI Kerala are among the prominent PFI leaders and office bearers charged today.

In the Tamil Nadu case, the Chargesheet submitted to the NIA Special Court in Chennai lists ten defendants, including Khalid Mohammed, State Vice President of PFI. This case was also opened in September 2022, when the NIA arrested nine of the defendants. Several months later, the tenth suspect was apprehended.

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Investigations conducted by the NIA revealed that the accused had led radicalization programmes to motivate, incite, and recruit gullible Muslim youth, who were then provided with weapons training at training centres. PFI cadres formerly carried out the orders of PFI office bearers and leaders to conduct reconnaissance, attack adversaries, and engage in illegal and violent activities.

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According to the NIA, digital gadgets, airguns, sharp weapons, and incriminating documents were recovered during the searches.The federal body took up the matter on September 19, after the Ministry of Home Affairs had banned the group (MHA).

According to an ANI report, the case is based on allegations that Sadiq Sarraf, a resident of Rajasthan’s Baran district, and Mohammed Asif, a resident of Kota, both of the Popular Front of India (PFI), along with office bearers, members, and cadres, engaged in illegal activities.

On September 28, 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs prohibited the PFI and its eight affiliated organisations under the harsh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). After a statewide raid by the NIA and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), arrests were made and allegedly incriminating documents were recovered from the offices and homes of the organization’s leaders.

The organisation was charged by the Center of fostering radicalization and sponsoring terrorism.
According to the MHA’s official announcement, the PFI was involved in a number of criminal and terror cases and received outside funding and ideological backing. It stated that the organisation had become a significant threat to national security.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the notification further stated that the PFI and its cadres have regularly committed violent and subversive crimes.

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Investigations revealed that PFI cadres committed violent acts including the amputation of a college professor’s hand, the cold-blooded murder of individuals associated with organisations of other faiths, the acquisition of explosives to target prominent people and places, and the destruction of public property.

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