M G Chetan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Popular Front of India (PFI), a pro-Muslim outfit, may be staring at a blanket ban on its operations as the Union government is likely to issue an order to this effect soon. The alleged involvement of its members in murder cases and evidence establishing its attempts to create communal disharmony are said to be the key reasons behind the move.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is said to have already taken inputs from all the stakeholders, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and will soon take a final decision. Sources told The New Indian Express that some developments in Kerala and Karnataka had prompted MHA to consider banning PFI.

“Some of its members were arrested in murder cases in Kerala and Karnataka. Some others were arrested for physical attacks on people with right-wing inclinations. Its members have been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a few cases. Further, there is substantial evidence about its members trying to breach communal harmony frequently. All these factors have worked against PFI and pushed the Home ministry to consider banning it,” an NIA officer in the know of the matter said.

The MHA is said to have held meetings to discuss the issue and had sought reports from agencies including NIA. “A detailed report of the cases registered against PFI was submitted, which will be factored and the ministry will arrive at a suitable decision shortly,” the official added.

The recent incidents in coastal Karnataka have been taken note of by the Home ministry and these are also reportedly seen as acts of creating communal unrest. It is said that PFI’s role in these incidents cannot be ruled out. “Repeated incidents of murders of those linked with right-wing organisations in that part and allegations of PFI’s involvement in those cases have also contributed to the decision the MHA plans to take,” a NIA officer said.

WHAT IS POPULAR FRONT OF INDIA?

In 2006, various like-minded organisations like National Development Front in Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu were merged to form the PFI. Although PFI’s mission is ‘A New India of Equal Rights, Freedom, Justice and Security for all Indians’, it is described by internal security experts as an ‘extremist organisation, if not a terror outfit’.

From the past

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker R Rudresh was murdered in broad daylight on K Kamaraj Road in Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru, on October 16, 2016. Police had arrested five people including the president of PFI’s Bengaluru unit, Asim Shariff. The case was later probed by NIA, which has already filed a chargesheet in the case. The accused was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Action before Karnataka polls?

It is said the Union government will ban PFI a few weeks before the Legislative Assembly elections in Karnataka, as the move is likely to help BJP to consolidate Hindu votes in the state.