Hyderabad: State intelligence officials are claiming that several members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) have joined the Popular Front of India (PFI) and that it was this controversial organization that was behind some recent communal disturbances in the state including last year’s Adoni riots.
The PFI, which shot into national prominence when two of its members chopped the hand of a Kerala Christian professor in June 2010 on the charge of blasphemy, claims to be a neo social movement for a new India for equal rights to all Indians, and is a confederation of Muslim organizations in India, as stated on its website, and is active in south India. Formed in November 2006, the PFI includes the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), the National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP), which are active in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, respectively.,
Although PFI claims to be an organization working for only the socio-economic, cultural and political empowerment of the deprived and the downtrodden, state intelligence sources say it is under their scanner for possible militant activities including terrorism. Sources in the police department said PFI is making every effort to win over the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh by taking up issues which are emotive and sensitive to their feelings. Specifically, it is concentrating on rural areas where the Muslim population is dominant, they said.
“The activities of PFI are widespread in Rayalaseema, especially in Kurnool district, where it is incidentally headquartered. Though its presence in Hyderabad is presently restricted to some pockets like Chandrayangutta and Shivarampalli, its activities are slowly spreading. However, the backward villages of the state where Muslim population is dominant is their focus area of operation where they take up programmes like ‘Sarva Siksha Grams’ or ‘School Chalo’. But the sole purpose of these activities is to lure Muslim youth towards PFI,” the sources said.
After the alleged role of right-wing Hindu activists surfaced in the Mecca Masjid blast, members of PFI have been suspected of having pasted anonymous posters under the caption ‘Save India Day’ in Old City, Kurnool, Nellore and Kadapa districts saying that innocent Muslims were harassed and arrested while the real culprits were ignored. PFI chief denies Simi links
According to the police, at their various meetings held in Vijayawada, Nandyal, Kurnool and Nellore, PFI members are said to have pitched for counter attacks by the minority community on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The PFI has also been demanding that those responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition should be brought to book. When contacted, PFI state president Mohammed Arif Ahmed told TOI that no member of the banned SIMI had joined PFI. “If police have any proof of identification against any of our members as being former members of SIMI, let them produce it. The allegation is baseless and made to defame our organisation,” Arif Ahmed said. Referring to the Adoni incidents that took place four months ago, the state PFI chief said members of his organization were deliberately framed by the Kurnool police. “As per the Constitution, we are working for the uplift of backward communities, especially Muslims. It is an effort to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots,'' Arif Ahmed said. However, the cops continue to insist that PFI has an ulterior destructive motive.
The PFI, which shot into national prominence when two of its members chopped the hand of a Kerala Christian professor in June 2010 on the charge of blasphemy, claims to be a neo social movement for a new India for equal rights to all Indians, and is a confederation of Muslim organizations in India, as stated on its website, and is active in south India. Formed in November 2006, the PFI includes the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), the National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP), which are active in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, respectively.,
Although PFI claims to be an organization working for only the socio-economic, cultural and political empowerment of the deprived and the downtrodden, state intelligence sources say it is under their scanner for possible militant activities including terrorism. Sources in the police department said PFI is making every effort to win over the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh by taking up issues which are emotive and sensitive to their feelings. Specifically, it is concentrating on rural areas where the Muslim population is dominant, they said.
“The activities of PFI are widespread in Rayalaseema, especially in Kurnool district, where it is incidentally headquartered. Though its presence in Hyderabad is presently restricted to some pockets like Chandrayangutta and Shivarampalli, its activities are slowly spreading. However, the backward villages of the state where Muslim population is dominant is their focus area of operation where they take up programmes like ‘Sarva Siksha Grams’ or ‘School Chalo’. But the sole purpose of these activities is to lure Muslim youth towards PFI,” the sources said.
After the alleged role of right-wing Hindu activists surfaced in the Mecca Masjid blast, members of PFI have been suspected of having pasted anonymous posters under the caption ‘Save India Day’ in Old City, Kurnool, Nellore and Kadapa districts saying that innocent Muslims were harassed and arrested while the real culprits were ignored. PFI chief denies Simi links
According to the police, at their various meetings held in Vijayawada, Nandyal, Kurnool and Nellore, PFI members are said to have pitched for counter attacks by the minority community on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The PFI has also been demanding that those responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition should be brought to book. When contacted, PFI state president Mohammed Arif Ahmed told TOI that no member of the banned SIMI had joined PFI. “If police have any proof of identification against any of our members as being former members of SIMI, let them produce it. The allegation is baseless and made to defame our organisation,” Arif Ahmed said. Referring to the Adoni incidents that took place four months ago, the state PFI chief said members of his organization were deliberately framed by the Kurnool police. “As per the Constitution, we are working for the uplift of backward communities, especially Muslims. It is an effort to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots,'' Arif Ahmed said. However, the cops continue to insist that PFI has an ulterior destructive motive.
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