Another PFI member was detained by the Assam Police in the Chhaygaon neighbourhood of the Kamrup district on Friday.
Three PFI members from the Nagarbera neighbourhood in the same district had been detained earlier by the district police. According to Hitesh Ch Roy, the Kamrup district’s superintendent of police, four members of the outlawed group have so far been taken into custody.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma praised the government’s move to outlaw the Popular Front of India (PFI), calling it “decisive and courageous” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He added that anyone having a “divisive or disruptive plan” against India will face harsh punishment from the government.
In accordance with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, the Central government on September 27 immediately outlawed the Popular Front of India (PFI), its associates, and its affiliates as unlawful associations for a term of five years.
The home ministry’s notification made it clear that the ban had been placed on PFI and any of its affiliates, associates, or fronts because they had “engaged in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country and have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony of the country and support militancy in the country.”
The PFI is involved in several “criminal and terror cases and shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country; with funds and ideological support from outside, it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country,” mentioned the notification.