UP STF raids Delhi offices of PFI, its student wing  

The Uttar Pradesh police's Special Task Force Sunday raided the Delhi offices of Popular Front of India and its student wing CFI, officials said, days after a CFI leader was sent to five-day police custody for allegedly funding PFI members to create unrest after the Hathras gangrape incident.

On February 17, a court in Mathura had sent PFI's student wing leader Rauf Shareef to five-day police custody.

Uttar Pradesh STF Inspector General Amitabh Yash told reporters, "A probe by the STF is underway in a case registered in Mant police station of Mathura. Based on information retrieved during interrogation, search and seizure are being done in the offices of PFI and CFI located in Delhi, after obtaining search warrant from court."

Shareef had been brought from Ernakulam jail in Kerala where he was lodged after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in December in a money laundering case.

In a remand report submitted in the court in Kerala, the ED had alleged that Shareef, who is the leader of Campus Front of India (CFI), had funded the trip of Sidhique Kappan, a Delhi-based Kerala journalist, and three other alleged PFI activists to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman died after being allegedly gang-raped.

Kappan and the three others were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in October while they were on their way to Hathras.

It was alleged they had "ulterior motives of disturbing social harmony and inciting communal riots" and were charged with serious offenses including sedition.

The Uttar Pradesh government has been demanding a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), accusing it of inciting riots in the state during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Reacting to the development, Anis Ahmed, national general secretary of PFI told National Herald: “Raid is part of the continued vendetta by UP Police on the instructions of the Yogi government to target Popular Front of India. Today they were at the office for three hours. They took away some documents and published material- all of which have been given to media through the year. We intend to put out these documents. It started last year during the CAA protests where they said the PFI members were the mastermind behind the anti- CAA protests.“

“3 PFI members were arrested and eventually they were released on bail as the UP Police could not prove the allegations. Any small or big issue, PFI is being targeted. Siddique Kappan was on his way to Hathras. They arrested him and three others stating that he is a PFI member, but he is not. This is an attempt to break PFI. This is not the end. We know there will be more such targetted attacks,” he added.

Incidentally, PFI had filed a PIL in Allahabad HC demanding a judicial probe by a sitting or retired judge to investigate the police atrocities against anti-CAA protestors. Today, PFI members were protesting the arrival of UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Kerala.

(With PTI inputs)