Row in Popular Front of India over ouster of P Safwan on Islamic State link

KOZHIKODE: Cracks have appeared in the Popular Front of India (PFI) over the ouster of its active member P. Safwan, 30, after his arrest over IS links on October 2. The NIA arrested Mr Safwan along with four others during their secret meeting at Kanakamala near Panur. Immediately after the arrest, they fired him as the graphic designer of its Thejas newspaper. Sources said the knee-jerk reaction had triggered simmering of grumblings which were there for quite some time.

“Mr Safwan’s arrest was solely based on the claims of NIA. If that is the case, then we could not suspect the umpteen Muslim youth put in various jails on cooked up charges,” said a district-level leader, who requested anonymity. The hardcore group led by Prof P. Koya abides by the core principal of the Muslim cause. Its proponents are against leaning towards democracy and functioning more like a political party.

The rival group argues for a more democratic approach to shed its fundamentalist image it got after chopping off Prof Joseph's hand. Leaders owing allegiance to the hardcore group had visited the house of Mr Safwan offering legal assistance. They remind it was the PFI that unleashed a statewide campaign on the brutal killing of Muslim Youth League worker Shukkur in Kannur allegedly by CPM workers after a ‘party trial’. “We defended innocent Muslims’ cases irrespective of their other identities,” said a leader.

The rattled supporters are venting their ire on the soft line via social media under fake identities. But PFI state president C. Abdul Hameed said the rift was a social media creation. “There is no differences in the organisation. We fired him under our policy,” he told DC. Mr Safwan was a defendant in the case of Kottakkal police station attack in 2007 demanding the release of NDF (the PFI’s previous avatar) leaders.