NIA court in Delhi frames charges against PFI leaders

New Delhi, Jul 11: An NIA court here framed charges against several top leaders of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) on Friday. Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma framed charges under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against 20 PFI members as well as the organisation. The accused include PFI’s chairman O M A Salam, vice-chairman E M Abdul Rahiman, general secretary Anis Ahmed, secretary Afsar Pasha and founding chairman E Abubacker. All the accused pleaded not guilty. The trial will now commence with the prosecution submitting its evidence on July 29. On June 5, the court had ordered framing of charges against them. “Considered as a whole, the material on record raises grave suspicion that the accused, acting through and on behalf of the Popular Front of India and its National Executive Council (NEC), agreed and acted in furtherance of a single conspiracy — to overthrow the secular democratic government of India and establish an Islamic caliphate under Sharia law in India by or before the year 2047 through an armed struggle against the State,” the court had said. The case stems from the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) FIR of April 2022, following which the agency filed its final report and a supplementary charge sheet against 26 accused, including the PFI. The court took cognisance of the charge sheets in March and April 2023. In September 2022, the Centre banned the PFI and several of its associates for five years under the UAPA, accusing them of having links with global terror groups like ISIS.