The Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS) of the UP Police has arrested six members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from Meerut and Varanasi on suspicion of their involvement in ‘dubious deals’ which were possibly linked to terror activities.
The arrests were made on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The arrests came two days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched over 100 premises of PFI members spread across 11 states.
Those arrested were identified as Mohammed Shadab and Maulana Sajid, both of Shamli district, Mufti Shahjad of Ghaziabad and Mohammed Islam of Muzaffarnagar from Meerut and Rizwan Ahmad and Mohammed Shahid both of Varanasi from Varanasi.
ATS officials said that the PFI members had been booked under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorists Squad conducted statewide raids on Popular Front of India (PFI) members, arresting six members from Meerut and Varanasi in overnight operations, booking them for promoting enmity on grounds of religion, conspiracy, under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act among others.
The arrest came following the nationwide crackdown on the PFI on Thursday jointly by NIA, ED and police of various states. Three members of the organisation were arrested by the state security agencies from Barabanki and Lucknow on Friday under similar sections while one, Wasim Ahmed, the divisional president of the PFI, was arrested on Thursday. Ahmed was also arrested in 2019 when anti-CAA protests in Lucknow turned violent.
In Meerut, the ATS arrested four members, two of whom hail from Shamli, one from Ghaziabad and one from Muzaffarnagar.
They were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, outraging religious feelings, issuing statements likely to create enmity on grounds of religion and under a section of the UAPA. In Varanasi, the two accused belong to the district itself and were booked on similar charges.
The ATS claimed to have recovered objectionable literature and other incriminating material from the arrested members.
