Close on the heels of the recent arrest of a key operative of the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Nizamabad police on Wednesday arrested three activists of the organisation on charges of attempting to create religious animosity and training youngsters in usage of lethal weapons.
Some pairs of ‘nunchuks’ (karate sticks), knives and literature with content of instigating religious animosity were reportedly recovered from the arrested, Shaik Shadulla, 40, Mohammed Imran, 22, and Mohammed Abdul Mobin, 27, residents of Nizamabad town.
Nizamabad Police Commissioner K.R. Nagaraju told The Hindu over phone that the arrested trio allegedly engaged Khader, who was arrested recently, to impart martial arts training on Muslim youngsters.
Shadulla reportedly told interrogators that he had joined PFI nearly five years ago. Eventually, the other two joined the organisation. On learning that Khader of Jagityal was good at marital arts, they approached him to coach nearly 200 PFI activists in martial arts, the Commissioner said.
They reportedly stuck a deal to give ₹6 lakh as financial assistance to Khader to construct a house, and paid him money from the funds of PFI in different stages, according to Mr. Nagaraju. For the past six months, Khader had allegedly been training PFI workers in martial arts, using nunchuks and usage of other arms. The Commissioner said PFI’s main goal was to identify active youngsters among Muslims, lure them into PFI, infuse hatred against other religions, make them physically fit and use to create disturbances whenever they want.
Replying to a question, the Commissioner said the PFI was not a banned organisation, but the activities its workers were indulging had attracted penal action. It had spread its network to other districts such as Jagityal, Warangal and the districts of Kadapa and Kurnool in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Members of this outfit were trying to revive contacts with operatives of the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), he said. The Jharkhand government had banned the PFI.
