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Kerala HC: State Govt Not To Play Hide And Seek

By LokMarg 17th October 2022

Kerala High Court on Monday told the State Government not to play ‘hide and seek’ with the court while hearing a case regarding the putting up of illegal flag posts, boards, and banners.

Court also asked the state government to make its stand clear on whether they want to pass a resolution regarding the issue.
Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran said, “If the state government feels that this Court should not proceed further and that matters should be as it was four years ago, then we should eschew claims of creating a new Kerala and be happy with the status quo. It would not give me any pleasure to run behind my orders to have them implemented from time to time. The Court was powerless as its orders were not being implemented. When the Court directs that its orders are to be implemented, the judges are criticized and called activists. Such directions are branded as ‘judicial activism.”

The Court further observed that if political parties themselves displayed their boards and flags ‘with impunity, others will certainly be persuaded to follow.

“You say this is democracy. It is not democracy to peril another man’s life. the boards and posts raised by the entities along the sidewalks were of danger to the traffic and pedestrians. The secretaries of local self-governments were powerless to remove the same since these were vested in the NHAI and no support was received from the police either. Until the present, it had been acting with great circumspection, however to no avail. Punitive actions may have to be taken if its orders were to have any meaning,” the court further observed.

The matter has been posted again for October 19. (ANI)

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Kerala Black Magic: 3 Accused Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody

By LokMarg 12th October 2022

The Ernakulam magistrate court on Wednesday remanded all the three accused of killing two women allegedly as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta on judicial custody.

The accused will be under judicial remand for a 14-day duration which will end on October 26.
The accused were produced in the Ernakulam District Session Court today.

The issue came to the fore on Tuesday as three persons, including one woman, were suspected of luring and killing the woman allegedly as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals, the City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju confirmed.

“Two dismembered bodies have been found buried inside the premises of a house in the Pathanamthitta district within 24 hours after they went missing,” the police said.

“The murders were brutal; the women were killed within 24 hours after missing. The manner of killing is indescribable,” Nagaraju said earlier.

According to the official, the murders took place on June 6 and September 26.

Kadavanthra police registered the case in Kochi following the report of a missing woman which was filed in September.

The arrested persons were identified as one Shafi, and the husband-wife pair of Bhagaval Singh and Laila.

“The main suspect is Shafi who brought the women. His aim was money. It is being investigated whether the accused Shafi approached more women for a ‘human sacrifice ritual’,” Nagaraju said.

“The CCTV footage was helpful in nabbing the accused,” he added.

Union minister V Muraleedharan on Tuesday hit out at the Kerala government alleging a”delayed response” by the state police, and said that a member of the CPIM was involved in the incident.

“The delayed response of the Kerala Police smells foul & exposes that women are not secure in Kerala Is @pinarayivijayan Govt delaying it deliberately because of the involvement of a @CPIMKerala member? Disgusting that @CMOKerala remains mum when two women are brutally killed,” the minister tweeted. (ANI)

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9 Dead, 38 Injured After Tourist Bus Hits State Transport Bus: Kerala

By LokMarg 6th October 2022

Nine people were killed and 38 others were injured after a tourist bus carrying students crashed into a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus at Mangalam near Vadakkenchery area of Palakkad, Kerala minister M B Rajesh said on Thursday.

The horrific road accident occurred after the tourist bus rear-ended into the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus. The tourist bus carrying students and teachers of the Baselios Vidhyanikethan School was headed to Ooty from Ernakulam, while the KSRTC bus was on its way to Coimbatore.
The deceased include five students, one teacher and three passengers from the KSRTC bus.

A total of 38 people have been admitted to the hospital.

“Five people sustained serious injuries but they are said to be out of danger,” Rajesh said.

Further details are awaited.

Previously, in another instance from Uttarakhand, as many as 32 people were killed and eighteen injured in the Pauri Garhwal bus accident, informed State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on October 4.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced financial assistance to the kin of the deceased in the Uttarkashi and Pauri Garhwal tragedies.

Earlier on October 3, a bus carrying a wedding procession of 50 people fell into a gorge near Simdi village in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district.

A wedding procession had left in a bus from Laldhang an accident occurred. Information is being taken from the family members. A rescue operation is still underway by Pauri Police and SDRF at the spot,” said Haridwar SP City Swatantra Kumar Singh. (ANI)

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PFI Accepts Govt’s Decision: Kerala Party General Secretary

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

Following the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Kerala state general secretary of the outfit Abdul Sattar on Wednesday said that the organisation has been dissolved.

“All PFI members and the public are informed that the PFI has been dissolved. MHA has issued a notification banning PFI. As law-abiding citizens of our great country, the organization accepts the decision,” said Sattar.
He further said that the Popular Front of India has requested all members to stop their activities.

On Tuesday, the Union home ministry had declared the Popular Front of India (PFI), and its associates or affiliates or fronts, as an unlawful association with immediate effect for five years, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

“PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socio-economic, educational and political organization but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country,” said the government notification.

The notification said PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been indulging 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.

Along with PFI, the ban is also imposed on its fronts, including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala, as an “unlawful association”.

The notification clearly mentioned that the ban has been imposed against PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts for “indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country and have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony of the country and supporting militancy in the country.

The Centre issued the ban citing the investigation of its agencies, mentioning “the investigations have established clear linkages between PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts”.

The notification mentions that the criminal activities and brutal murders have been carried out by PFI cadres for the sole objective of “disturbing public peace and tranquility and creating a reign of terror in the public mind”. (ANI)

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Bharatiya Janata Party National President JP Nadda

Nadda: Kerala Becoming Hotspot Of Terrorism

By LokMarg 27th September 2022

Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda on Monday attacked the CPI-M-led Left government in Kerala, saying the state is “becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements” and “communal tensions are increasing”.

Nadda, who inaugurated BJP district office in Thycaud and addressed booth presidents and booth Incharges district level meeting in Kowdiar in the state, alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was involved in corruption.
“The Kerala government is neck deep in corruption. When even the CM office of a state ends up under the ambit of corruption, what else could be more unfortunate about the governance therein? This is how the LDF government is ruining and destroying the state of Kerala,” he said.

“Kerala is becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements. Life is not safe, ordinary citizen not finding himself to be safe. Communal tensions are mounting. The tacit support to culprits by the left govt is nothing but state-sponsored lawlessness,” he added.

Nadda said BJP is a structured, cadre-based party that is consistent in its ideology and has a mass following.

He said PM Modi is leaving no stone unturned to uplift each section of society.

“We are lucky to be a part of the BJP as we are the only political party with an ideology which started with Jana Sangh in 1950. The implementation of our ideology is reflected by the fact on our stance on Article 370. Our national commitments is undeterred but the aspiration of regional people are never ignored. We are not just a political party, but a party living on the principles of humanity and social service,” he said.

He said the BJP government has always been pro-poor, taking care of the marginalized in every way possible. “To save people from hunger during the pandemic, PM Modi started PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana under which 5 kg of wheat/rice and 1 kg of pulses were provided to every eligible person.”

“It is a proactive and pro-responsive government and an example of the same is the rescue during the Ukraine war. Thousands of Indian students were trapped in the conflict zone and were brought back safely to their homes.”

He said the new party office is an infrastructure and in this hardware, “you need to put software”. “Our karyakartas are software. You need to use this office as Sanskar kendra. Through this office, you need to give sanskar to the karyakartas”.

He alleged Kerala is entering into a debt trap.

“The financial discipline isn’t being maintained due to the policies of LDF government. This government is synonymous with corruption, and I am sorry to say that CM office is also involved in it.

Not only corruption, but there is nepotism in university appointments as people close to CM are being placed. The powers of Lokayukta are being diluted for protecting the CM office which is involved in corruption.”

In order to give boost to connectivity in the state, a significant amount of finance is being infused for strengthening the network of National Highways in Kerala, Nadda said.

“As BJP is the largest political party, we think on all parameters- the Size, Scale and Skill of the party. We have to be well-equipped and enlightened about what can be done in the best of our capacities- for humanity, for the society, and for the people of Kerala,” he said. (ANI)

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Kerala: Special Court Sends Accused PFI Workers To NIA Custody In Kochi

By LokMarg 24th September 2022

A Special NIA Court on Saturday sent 10 PFI workers to NIA custody till September 30 in Kochi.

These PFI workers were booked in UAPA cases and arrested by NIA this week from different locations in Kerala.
Earlier they were remanded to judicial custody by the Court.

The accused who were sent to NIA custody are, 2nd accused Karamana Ashraf Moulavi (National in-charge, Education wing of PFI), 4th accused Sadiq Ahmed (PFI Pathanamthitta District Secretary, 5th accused Shihas (PFI Zonal secretary), 6th accused Ansari P, 7th accused MM Mujeeb, 8th accused Najumudeen, 9th accused Sainudeen TS (PFI Kottayam District Secretary), 10th accused PK Usman, 11th accused Yahiya Koya (PFI State Executive Member), 13th accused K Muhammedali (National in-charge, Expansion wing of PFI).

The court directed NIA to produce the accused at 11 am on September 30.

Earlier in a major breakthrough linked to the largest-ever action against the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Central investigating agencies have found inputs against the outfit for “organizing a training camp with an intent to cause disturbance during Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visit in Bihar’s capital Patna on July 12 this year”.

Besides, during the course of the investigation, the agencies have found details of numerous bank accounts of PFI.

The revelation came in two separate remand copies of the Enforcement Directorate– one submitted before a special judge in Lucknow against Muhammed Shafeeque Payeth, resident of Kozhikode in Kerala, and the other against Perwez Ahmed before a special court in Delhi.

Both Payeth and Ahmed were arrested from Kerala and Delhi respectively on September 22 during a first-ever largest search operation conducted by a joint team of ED and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and state police forces, arresting 106 PFI members from 15 states.

Payeth, a resident of Kozhikode in Kerala, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate around 5.35 am on September 22 from his flat there while Ahmed was arrested from Delhi.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigation, the ED’s remand copy mentions, so far has also revealed that “more than Rs 120 crore have been deposited in the accounts of PFI and related entities over the years, and that a very large part of the same has been deposited in cash”.

The ED informed the court that the inputs were received after the details related to individuals and entities were obtained and their bank statements were analyzed.

Statements of various functionaries of PFI and related entities have also been recorded, the agency claims, mentioning the investigation of Bihar Police as well as of NIA.

“As many as 12 cases against PFI and its related entities and individuals have been investigated by the NIA and charge sheets have been filed…Investigations have further established the criminal conspiracy of PFI in raising and collecting funds through unknown and suspicious sources from within the country as well as abroad and the subsequent transfer, layering and integration of such funds for eventual use in their continuous unlawful activities over time which include, but are not limited to inciting violence and fomenting trouble leading to Delhi riots of February 2020,” the copy mentions.

The remand copies also mentioned the visit of PFI and CFI members to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh with an intent to “disturb communal harmony, inciting communal riots and spreading terror, plan to form a terrorist gang – a collection of deadly weapons and explosive devices to simultaneously launch attacks on important and sensitive places and individuals in UP with an intent to undermine the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation and to disturb communal harmony”.

The remand copies further revealed that the PFI workers were also “organizing training camp with an intent to cause disturbance during Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Patna visit on July 12, 2022”.

The outfit is also charged with “preparing, printing and possessing incriminating literature having potential to pose threat to the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation”.

The ED informed the court that it has been conducting an investigation against PFI and its related individuals and entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 under the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) dated May 2, 2018, on the basis of various cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other Law Enforcement Agencies invoking Scheduled offences under Sections 120B, 121, 121A of Indian Penal Code, Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act, Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act and Sections 13, 16, 17, 18 and 18(A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

These cases of the predicate agencies pertain to unlawful activities carried out by PFI and its related individuals and organizations to indulge in criminal conspiracy with an intent to disturb communal harmony, spread terror, incite communal riots, impart training to their cadre to use explosives and weapons, form a terrorist gang and collect deadly weapons and explosive devices to simultaneously launch attacks on many important persons and sensitive locations.

The criminal conspiracy and activities in several of these cases had the potential to pose threat to the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation, reads the remand copy.

The NIA in its one of the two separate First Information Reports in the Phulwari Sharif terror module case has also mentioned a plan to disturb the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bihar by some suspected persons.

Both the FIRs were registered on July 22– first mentions about a plan to disturb the PM’s visit by some suspected persons who had assembled in the Phulwari Sharif area on July 11 while the other is linked to the interception of one Margub Ahmad Danish alias Tahir by Bihar Police on July 14 for his alleged involvement in anti-India activities and radicalization of impressionable youth using various social media platforms. (ANI)

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500 Arrested, 400 Detained After PFI Protests In Kerala

By LokMarg 23rd September 2022

As many as 500 people were arrested and 400 others put under preventive detention on Friday in connection with violent protests during the twelve-hour strike called by PFI to protest the arrest of the organisation’s leaders.

The protests also saw stone pelting at an RSS office in Mattannur in Kannur, police said.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Vijay Sakhare told ANI that 500 people had been arrested so far in connection with the protests.

“500 people have been arrested in connection with that and 400 more have been put under preventive detention in connection with a hartal called by the Popular front of India (PFI). Two incidents of stone pelting were reported at the RSS office at Mattanur,” the ADGP said.

The ADGP also gave details of another incident where arrests were made for carrying an explosive device.

“In another case, two persons on the motorcycle with a bomb were arrested. Three more people were arrested later. All the five have been arrested. Currently, the situation is normal and under control,” Sakhare said.

Earlier in the day, a petrol bomb was also hurled at the RSS office in Mattannur during the protest against the arrest of the PFI activists. According to reports, two persons on a scooter hurled a petrol bomb at the Sangh office which resulted in the shattering of window panes.

A day after PFI leaders were arrested in massive nationwide raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies, the controversial organization had called for a dawn-to dusk shutdown on Friday.

The hartal (strike) started at 6 am and will continue for 12 hours till 6 pm, informed a protester.

According to the police, stone-pelting incidents were reported at various places in the state during the protest. Visuals showed the protestors pelting stones at the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus at Panamaram village in Wayanad district.

The bus was going to Kozhikode. KSRTC buses were also attacked in Kozhikode, Kochi, Alappuzha and Kollam.

“Two miscreants on a bike at Pallimukku in the Kollam district abused police officials and hit them after they attempted to stop them,” police said.

The injured police officials identified as Antony and Nikhil have been admitted to the hospital. The police said the accused will soon be taken into custody.

In the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, an auto rickshaw and a car were seen in a damaged state after being attacked in Poonthura. In Kottayam, roads were seen deserted.

A total of 106 Popular Front of India (PFI) cadres were arrested yesterday in a joint operation conducted by the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate and state police forces across 15 states in the country’s multiple locations, according to the sources. (ANI)

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PFI’s Kerala Bandh Tuns Violent: Protestors Pelt Stones; 2 Policemen Injured

By LokMarg 23rd September 2022

A day after Popular Front of India leaders were arrested in a massive country-wide raid, the outfit’s dawn-to-dusk hartal began on Friday, and incidents of stone pelting and attacks on vehicles, including KSRTC buses, by protesters were reported from various places in the state.

The shutdown in Kerala has been called by the PFI to protest the arrest of its members in nationwide raids by the National Investigation Agency yesterday.
The hartal (strike) started at 6 am and will continue for 12 hours till 6 pm.

In various other parts of the state, the roads were seen deserted this morning with few of people on the roads.

According to the police, stone-pelting incidents were reported at various places in the state.

Two police officers were attacked earlier today by the hartal supporters at Pallimukku in the Kollam district.

Visuals showed hartal supporters pelting stones at the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus at Panamaram village in Wayanad district. The bus was going to Kozhikode.

KSRTC buses were also attacked in Kozhikode, Kochi, Alappuzha, and Kollam.

In the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, an autorickshaw and a car were seen in a damaged state after being attacked in Poonthura.

Releasing a statement, the PFI state committee said that it considered the NIA’s arrest of PFI national and state leaders “unjust” and “part of atrocities by the state”.

“A hartal will be held in the state on September 23, Friday) against the RSS-controlled fascist government’s move to use central agencies to silence dissenting voices,” it said.

The PFI also called upon the “democratic believers” to make success the strike against the “fascist regime that crush the civil rights”.

According to the police, stone-pelting incidents are being reported at various places in the state.

Two miscreants on a bike at Pallimukku in the Kollam district abused police officials and hit them after they attempted to stop them, police said.

The injured police officials were identified as Antony and Nikhil have been admitted to the hospital. The police said the bike number of the assailants have been noted and they will be soon be taken into custody.

In Kottayam roads were seen deserted.

Earlier on Thursday, the PFI, while condemning the raids by the NIA and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against its leaders, stated that it will “never surrender” and alleged that the agency’s claims are aimed at “creating an atmosphere of terror”.

The states where the raids were conducted included Andhra Pradesh (4 places), Telangana (1), Delhi (19), Kerala (11), Karnataka (8), Tamil Nadu (3), Uttar Pradesh (1), Rajasthan (2), Hyderabad (5), Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar and Manipur.

The searches were conducted in connection with five cases registered by the NIA following “continued inputs and evidence” that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in the funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations.

A large number of criminal cases have been registered in different states over the last few years against the PFI and its leaders and members for their involvement in many violent acts.

Earlier on Thursday, the PFI and SDPI workers staged a protest in Karnataka’s Mangaluru against the raids, following which they were detained by the state police.

PFI workers sat on the road in protest against the NIA raid at the party office in Chennai.

The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006. (ANI)

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NIA, ED Arrest 100 Popular Front Leaders From 10 States

By LokMarg 22nd September 2022

In a first-ever largest action, a joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and state police forces have arrested over 100 Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders during raids across 10 states, said sources on Thursday.

The searches are being conducted at multiple locations in the largest ever investigation process till date.
These searches are being conducted at the residential and official premises of persons involved in “funding terrorism, organizing training camps, and radicalizing people to join proscribed organizations”.

“In a major action across 10 states, NIA, ED, and state police have arrested more than 100 cadres of PFI,” sources told ANI.

The raids were conducted in Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and many more states, said sources.

NIA earlier this month also raided 40 places in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh in a PFI case and detained four persons.

The agency had then conducted searches at 38 locations in Telangana (23 in Nizamabad, four in Hyderabad, seven in Jagityal, two in Nirmal, one each in Adilabad and Karimnagar districts) and at two locations in Andhra Pradesh (one each in Kurnool and Nellore districts) in the case relating to Abdul Khader of Nizamabad district in Telangana and 26 other persons.

In the operation, NIA had seized incriminating materials, including digital devices, documents, two daggers and Rs 8,31,500 cash.

As per NIA, the accused were “organizing camps for imparting training to commit terrorist acts and to promote enmity between different groups on the basis of religion”.

The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 – the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them.

Now the PFI claims it has units in 22 states. Its growth is phenomenal, admitted intelligence agencies, saying it successfully exploited a growing vacuum in the community by donning the role of a savior. The successful portrayal of the image helps PFI to mobilize funds, especially from the rich middle-eastern countries. The PFI had its headquarters in Kozhikode earlier, but after broadening of its base, it was shifted to Delhi. PFI’s state president Nasaruddin Elamarom is one of the founding leaders of the outfit. Its all-India president E Abubaker also hails from Kerala.

The PFI describes itself as a neo-social movement committed to empowering people belonging to minority communities, Dalits, and other weaker sections of society. (ANI)

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