PFI and eight affiliate organisations banned by Centre for 5 years

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday morning imposed a five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates, including the Rehab India Foundation (RIF) and Campus Front of India.

A day after the second nationwide crackdown on the radical outfit in five days, in which police teams from seven states conducted raids Tuesday and detained or arrested more than 270 people with alleged ties to the radical outfit, the MHA banned the PFI and its associates and issued the gazette notification.

The PFI and its associates, affiliates, and fronts, according to the ministry’s notification, have been engaging in illegal activities that are detrimental to India’s integrity, sovereignty, and security, have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony, and support militancy in the nation.

“The Central Government is of the opinion that it is necessary to exercise its powers under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the UAPA Act as the PFI is involved in several criminal and terror cases and shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country and with funds and ideological support from outside it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country, investigations in various cases have revealed that the PFI and its cadres have been repeatedly engaging in violent and subversive acts,” stated the notification.