25 PFI activists arrested in Maharashtra; Fadnavis says action based on evidence

Maharashtra Police have arrested 25 activists of the Popular Front of India PFI after raids in various districts of the state officials saidMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that the crackdown on PFI was as per law based on investigation into their activities and evidenceAttempts 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 ministerAccording to police 14 people were arrested from Aurangabad four from Thane two each from Nanded Parbhani and Malegaon in Nashik district and one AmravatiAlso Read Pilot arrives in Delhi amid Rajasthan crisisThane Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime Laxmikant Patil said four PFI activists were arrested on Monday night in a joint operation carried out in the district by local police and crime branch officialsTwo of the activists were nabbed from Mumbra and one each from Kalyan and Bhiwandi towns he said without elaboratingA senior official from Aurangabad said they had arrested 14 PFI membersNashik Rural Superintendent of Police Sachin Patil said We have arrested two persons from MalegaonSP Nanded Nisar Tamboli also said they had arrested two personsBesides the Pune police detained six people linked to the PFI and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India SDPI from Kondhwa area of the city an official saidThe prevention action under Criminal Procedure Code Section 1513 has been taken in the backdrop of the recent crackdown on the PFI by the National Investigation Agency NIA and the Maharashtra AntiTerrorism Squad ATS senior police inspector Sardar Patil from Kondhwa police station saidMore than 150 people allegedly linked with the Popular Front of India PFI were detained or arrested in raids across seven states on Tuesday five days after a similar pan India crackdown against the group often accused of being linked to radical IslamConducted mostly by state police teams the raids were spread across Uttar Pradesh Karnataka Gujarat Delhi Maharashtra Assam and Madhya PradeshOn September 22 multiagency teams spearheaded by the NIA arrested 106 leaders and activists of the PFI in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country The NIA is investigating 19 cases involving the PFIThe Maharashtra AntiTerrorism Squad ATS had last week arrested 20 PFI members from different parts of the state in the multiagency raidsOn Monday the ATS arrested one more PFI activist from Nanded in Marathwada regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever