The PFI’s reporter network and how it went about getting Hindu leaders killed

The Dawah or hit squads of the PFI have been notoriously dangerous. They have played a role in targeting Hindus in particular at the behest of the Islamic Courts

New Delhi, Jan 20: Earlier this week the National Investigation Agency arrested one Mohammad Sadik, a reporter of the now banned Popular Front of India.

The PFI and its affiliates were recently banned by the Union Government after investigations found that the outfit was involved in acts of terror.

The NIA in a release said that the probe revealed that the PFI had assigned the job of a reporter to Mohammad Sadik, a resident of Kollam in Kerala. The NIA said that a reporter in the PFI system collects details about leaders of other communities for possible targeting by the Hit Squads of the outfit.

A list of non-Muslim leaders:

Sadik was arrested following a raid at his home at Chavera in Kollam district on January 17. Sources tell OneIndia that he was making a list of non-Muslim leaders and was in the process of passing it on to the hit squad or Dawah squad of the PFI.

Recently the NIA had arrested Mohammad A I, who is an advocate by profession. He was arrested after it was found that he was part of the hit squad of the PFI.

Sadik was part of a team which was collecting information about non-Muslim leaders and passing it on to these hit squads.

The PFI has targeted many non-Muslim leaders especially Hindus in recent times. RSS leader, Rudresh, Ramalingam, Nandu, Sanjit, Bibin, Sharath, Abhimanyu, Sasi Kumar and Praveen Pujari are some of the Hindus that the PFI has killed through these hit squads.

The role of reporters:

The PFI had reporters who were particularly tasked with gathering information about non-Muslim leaders. They would gather information about their movements, whereabouts among others and then pass it on to the hit-squad.

The reporters were also tasked with gathering information about political leaders as well. They would keep a tab on their statements, social media accounts and family members as well. The source cited above said that the basic job of these reporters of the PFI was to conduct a reconnaissance of Hindu leaders.

The Dawah Squads:

In the killing of Praveen Nettaru in Karnataka, it would found that the hit squad had detailed information about him which included where he lived, the places he frequented and his location. The details of his family members was also available and all this was collected by these reporters the PFI.

Another official said that the mechanism was a well oiled one. The reporters would go around gathering information. The same would then be passed on to the Dawah or hit squad. The squad on its part would place the same before the Islamic or Dawah courts of the PFI. Once these courts would give the go ahead these Dawah squads would be activated and they would set out and kill the Hindu leaders.

In the case of Praveen, the hit squad had killed him for his views on the halal issue.

What began in Kerala gradually spread to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and some parts of north east as well. The killings of Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe were the handwork of such hit-squads acting on the directive of the Islamic courts.