KOZHIKODE: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has come up with serious allegations against the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), saying that the latter is one of the front organisations formed by the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to pursue ‘all principles of jihad.’
ED arrested SDPI national president M K Faizy on Monday and the court has remanded him to the agency’s custody for interrogation.
In a press release, ED said a document recovered during the searches at PFI state headquarters in Kozhikode “provides insight into the true objectives of the PFI, describing it as an organisation committed to advancing an Islamic movement in India by endorsing the principles of jihad in all forms. It positions itself internally as an Islamic movement and externally as a social movement.” To achieve these goals, the PFI has established SDPI and several front organisations, it said.
ED added that there are “numerous incriminating documents and digital evidence…that establish that the PFI used to control, fund and supervise the activities of the SDPI.”
The release added that “SDPI is a front organisation of the PFI having common members/cadres and leaders,” and “SDPI was dependent on PFI for its day-to-day functions. The central agency said that PFI decided the policy of the SDPI and had a significant role “in selecting the candidates for the election campaign.”
The release said that there is another document that was recovered in the searches, which “reveals that the PFI was directing the SDPI in the process of selecting candidates for both Assembly and Parliament elections,” ED said.
The agency added that PFI’s national executive committee ratified the fund collection for the SDPI candidates. ED said that there is evidence to show that PFI gave Rs 3.17 crore for SDPI’s election purposes in 2019.
“The expenses made by PFI for and on behalf of SDPI, as mentioned in the diaries and other documents seized during the searches, are not reflected in the bank accounts of PFI.
Such funds have been collected by PFI from foreign countries mainly Gulf countries in furtherance of criminal conspiracy to raise funds to carry out violent and terrorist activities in India and such funds have also been raised locally in India in the name of Ramadan Collection (RC),” said the release.