Abdul Rehman Abdul Rauf Shaikh after being produced in court in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)THE MAHARASHTRA Police on Tuesday picked up 47 people from different parts of the state for allegedly being affiliated with the Popular Front of India (PFI). While some of them were arrested, the others were detained under Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the CrPC to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in the state.
Terming it as preventive action, the police said that the accused were picked up after it was learnt that they were involved in anti-national activities.
Among the 47, those arrested were subsequently produced before courts or special executive magistrates, following which they were sent to judicial custody.
A police officer said that 14 of the accused were picked up in Aurangabad, six in Pune, four each in Mumbai and Thane, three in Nanded, two each from Navi Mumbai, Beed, Nashik and Buldana and one each from Sangli, Jalgaon and Jalna.
The Thane local crime branch identified those detained as Dawood Siraj Ahmed Shaikh, Abdul Mateen Shekhani, Fardeen Jameel Paikar and Ashik Ansari. The police said they are active members of the PFI and were allegedly involved in creating hatred between two communities.
A Thane Police crime branch officer said, “They were detained from their houses in Mumbra, Kalyan and Bhiwandi. We came to know that they were involved in anti-national activities.”
Senior Inspector Ravindra Patil of NRI police station in Navi Mumbai said, “We detained Abdul Rehman Abdul Rauf Shaikh after we came to know that he is involved in unlawful activities. He is the head of PFI’s Navi Mumbai area. He was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.”
The Pune City Police, meanwhile, arrested six persons linked to PFI and its affiliate Social Democratic Party of Indian as a “preventive measure”.
The six persons have been identified as Abdul Aziz Bansal, Maaz Faizan Shaikh, Kashif Nazeer Shaikh, Mohammed Qais Anwar Shaikh, Dilawar Kareem Sayyed and Aymul Rasheed Momin, all residents of Kondhwa.
“The court released them on the bail but ordered them to stay out of Pune city till October 5,” said Sardar Patil, Senior Inspector, Kondhwa police station.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told mediapersons that the crackdown on PFI was as per law based on investigation into their activities and evidence. “Attempts were being made to create a division in society and weaken the country. This was being done systematically,” said Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister.
On September 22, multi-agency teams spearheaded by the NIA had arrested 106 leaders and activists of the PFI in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. The Maharashtra ATS had last week arrested 20 PFI members from different parts of the state. —With PTI inputs