LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force on Friday arrested Popular Front of India (PFI) member Kamal KP from Melattur in Kerala’s Malappuram district.
Additional director general of police, law and order, Prashant Kumar said Kamal KP was wanted in connection with conspiracy to disturb communal harmony after the death of a Dalit girl in Hathras in October 2020. The STF had announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for any information leading to his arrest.
ADG Kumar said that during the investigation of the case by the STF, a voice node was received from Kerala-journalist Siddique Kappan’s mobile.
"The data was sent to Kamal KP in which a secret meeting was called using code words in which a conspiracy to incite riots was hatched. Apart from this, KP was a member of the PFI’s 'hit-squad' and was mentor of Anshad Badruddin, who was caught in Lucknow with explosives," said Kumar.
Kumar said that the STF had got vital clues of Kamal KP’s involvement in trying to incite the violence in Hathras.
"It has been learnt by us that Kamal KP was one of the top five members of the PFI," said the ADG.
"We have taken a transit remand and will soon bring him to Lucknow and produce him before a court. We will take him on remand for further interrogation," the ADG added.
Earlier, in the same case, the STF had filed a charge sheet against eight members of PFI in April 2021.
In the 5,000-page charge sheet PFI members identified as Atiq-ur-Rahman, Siddiqui Kappan, Masud Ahmad, Alam, Anshad Badruddin, Firoz Khan, Danish and Rauf Sharif were accused of receiving funds to the tune of Rs 80 lakh from financial institutions in Muscat and Doha for the purpose "communal disharmony".
Atiq-ur-Rahman, Siddiqui Kappan, Masud Ahmad and Alam were arrested by STF from Mathura on October 5, 2020, while Rauf Sherif, general secretary of CFI, was arrested in December at Trivandrum airport. Anshad Badruddin, Firoz Khan were arrested by STF from Lucknow on February 15, 2021 and Danish was arrested from Delhi.
The STF had then stated that the material collected from cellphones and laptops of the accused corroborate that they were trying to spread disharmony in the state by raking up crime incidents that took place in Hathras. Documents were collected during searches at the office of PFI in Delhi and evidence was found, said the STF.
Kappan was released from Lucknow jail in February, 28 months after he was arrested.
