Months after crackdown, Assam Police arrest two PFI leaders from Barpeta district

Assam Police on April 8 arrested two leaders of the banned radical group Popular Front of India (PFI) from the state's Barpeta district, claim reports.

As per sources, the leaders were arrested from Barpeta Railway Station along with one member of the Campus Front of India (CFI).

The two arrested PFI leaders have been identified as Zakir Hussain and Samad Ahmed while the CFI member has been identified as Jahidul Islam Mirdha.

It is reported that Zakir Hussain serves as the secretary of the state committee, Samad Ahmed is the president of the PFI Assam State Committee, and Jahidul Islam is the president of the CFI Assam Committee.

Earlier, the leader of the student wing of the banned Islamic organization Popular Front of India (PFI), which is based in Bengaluru, was arrested by Assam Police in November 2022.

Since the NIA's nationwide crackdown on the organization, earlier this year, the leader, according to reports, has been on the run.

According to an official, the Campus Front of India (CFI) leader was taken into custody on Friday April 7 by an Assam Police team led by a DSP-rank official in Bellundur, Bengaluru.

Amir Hamza was the accused, according to the police. They claimed Hamza was hiding in Bengaluru with a few Tripura families.

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Bengaluru issued Hamza's three-day transit remand to Assam Police following his arrest. A statement from the police read, "He is being brought to Guwahati."

He will also be brought before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Guwahati on Monday, according to the police statement.

Officials disclosed that Hamza is a resident of the Baksa district in Assam, providing additional information regarding the arrest. Since the Centre announced the PFI ban, he had been on the run.

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