Assam Police arrested 10 leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for allegedly making efforts to foment communal strife throughout the state.
The arrested leaders include Aminul Hoque, Abdul Razzak, Robiul Hussain, Nazrul Islam Bhuyan, Rafiqul Islam, Abu Sama Ahmed, Farhad Ali, Khalilur Rahman, Mufti Rahmatullah and Bazlul Karim. They were booked under sections 120(B), 124(A), 153(A) and 353 of IPC.
According to Assam Police, the arrested persons were indulging in whipping the communal passion and sentiments of the religious minority by criticizing every policy of the government with communal overtones which include Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), NRC (National Register of Citizens) and 'D'-Voter, the new state Education Policy, Cattle Protection Act, extension of AFSPA, TET examination, Agnipath scheme, eviction of encroached governmnet lands with a view to term these actions of the Government as an attack on the Muslim community.
"They were also obstructing the government servants in performing duty by use of force, while the organisation was trying to conduct several programmes in some districts of Assam by violating prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC," said police.
The leaders had been extensively using Cyber Space to provoke the people for defying the government and to divide the society on religious lines and obstructing the execution of policies. They were provoking the people against the government with the aim to spread mistrust among the public, said police.
Police said were also misleading and inciting the people against the govrenment by taking up issues which occurred outside the state and miscampaigning through social media platforms. These include highlighting arrests made in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict on the HIJAB issue, Bilkis Bano issue, court verdict on the Gyanvapi mosque, criticising the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janambhoomi -Babri Masjid issue, abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India.
They are organizing protests on such issues in very communally sensitive areas like Badarpur, Karimganj, Barpeta, Baksa, Kamrup(R), Goalpara and Kamrup(M) districts, etc.
The police further said these leaders were also trying to spread communal feelings in Muslim dominated pockets of Barpeta, Goalpara, Badarpur by whipping their sentiments on the issue of communal violence, Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti that took place in Rajasthan.
Following members of PFI were arrested in this case connection as they were found actively involved in the above noted conspiracy of propagating the anti establishment propaganda with communal overtones with a view to polarising on religious lines throughout the State and vitiating the atmosphere thus posing a serious threat to the internal security of the country, said Assam Police.
A total of 106 PFI cadres were arrested on Thursday in a joint operation conducted by the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate and state police forces across 11 states in the country's multiple locations, according to the sources.
( With inputs from ANI )
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