NIA nets C A Rauf in PFI’s Islamic Courts case

The Islamic Courts have become a headache and several of the orders passed by it have resulted in the killings of Hindu leaders.

New Delhi, Oct 29: The National Investigation Agency has arrested the 13th accused in the Kerala Popular Front of India case.

The case on hand pertains to the PFI and its office bearers, members and affiliates in Kerala. They were found to be conspiring to indulge in unlawful activities, such as creating enmity between members of different religious groups. The arrested person has been identified as C A Rauf. He was the state secretary of the PFI and was handling the media and PR wings of the outfit in Kerala.

Further it was found that the now banned outfit was propagating an alternate justice delivery system in order to justify the use of criminal force resulting in alarm and fear amongst the people. The outfit was also encouraging vulnerable youth to join terror organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Islamic State.

The Islamic Courts have become a headache and several of the orders passed by it have resulted in the killings of Hindu leaders. South India has reported several cases relating to the killing and targeting of Hindu leaders. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has probed several cases in this regard. An official said that the leaders continue to be targeted due to the lack of action and primarily to instil a sense of fear in the Hindu community.

In order to execute such murders, the radical Islamist groups had formed a 'Dawah' team. The primary work of the team is to convert Hindus to Islam and those opposing it are threatened and killed like what happened in the case of Ramalingam in Thanjavur. This killing created terror in the minds of the people and also led to communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims.

An official explains to OneIndia that the problem is deeply infested. Muslims are advised not to go to courts. The radical Islamists had also formed 'Darul Khada', an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. The NIA learnt that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a lot of issues. In 2009, a declaration was passed in Kerala by the Darul Khada which called on the Muslim community not to approach the judiciary or police, but instead get all issues resolved by it.

The role of these Islamic Courts came to the limelight in a big way following the attack on Professor T D Joseph. During the probe, the police learnt that the Islamic Court that is functioning in Kerala had given orders to chop of the professor's right hand.

It was also learnt that the Darul Khada, apart from giving directives to target Hindu leaders, also has been interfering in plenty of family disputes involving Muslim families in Kerala. They are being persuaded to not go to the regular courts or police stations and instead approach them to sort out their problems.