Police arrest PFI member for spreading ‘false propaganda’ during anti-CAA protests

The Delhi Police have arrested a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA in the national capital, according to news agency ANI. “The Special Cell arrested Mohd Danish for spreading false propaganda during anti-CAA protests,” the Delhi Police said in a statement, as quoted by ANI.

Danish is a resident of Trilokpuri area in east Delhi, officials said.

Delhi was singed by the protests launched by different groups against the CAA, days after it was passed by Parliament in December last year.

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Among the most violent protests was the one held by the students of Jamia Millia Islamia on December 15, 2019. The peaceful march turned violent after which the protesters vandalised vehicles and torched a few of them.

An official of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said last month that PFI, which is under the scanner for alleged anti-national activities and fanning violence during the anti-CAA protests in a couple of states including Uttar Pradesh, has its headquarters in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, where anti-CAA protest has been going on for almost three months.

The official, who didn’t wish to be named, also revealed that the PFI president of Delhi, Mohammad Parwez Ahmed has been in regular touch with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh and several Congress leaders including Udit Raj.

The ED official quoted above also revealed that around Rs 120 crore was deposited in 73 bank accounts linked with the PFI and its associates in 17 different banks and the majority of the contributions were made in cash.

The official said that two-thirds of all the deposits are kept in cash at PFI’s headquarters in G-78, Shaheen Bagh, Delhi. Local handlers collect cash from their respective areas all across the country and travel to Delhi to deposit it at the organisation’s headquarters, the official alleged.

Several PFI members have been arrested or booked for violence during anti-CAA protests, more than hundred such arrests have been made in Uttar Pradesh alone. A couple of arrests have been made in Assam and Tamil Nadu, while several cases against the organisation’s activists have been registered in Kerala and Rajasthan.

On December 4, 2019, the home ministry had sought information from all states about cases registered against PFI activists from November 2016 to November 2019 for anti-national activities.