13 September,2023 09:12 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
A 36-year-old man was arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly sending false complaints claiming that members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were about to instigate riots in Mumbai, police said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.
According to the news agency, Afsar Khan alias MD Afsar, arrested a few days ago, has multiple criminal cases registered against him, said an official. His brother Akhtar is wanted in the case.
The Bhoiwada police station in the city recently received multiple complaints, sent by post, claiming that some 19 to 20 members of the banned outfit PFI were conspiring to engineer riots or communal violence in Mumbai, the official told the PTI.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unit linked to Bhoiwada police station began a probe and found that all the letters had come through the Chembur post office.
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It nabbed a boy used for posting the complaints, the official said, adding that the boy disclosed Afsar's name.
In the meanwhile, the Mumbai crime branch which was conducting a parallel investigation arrested Afsar through technical surveillance.
He was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 505 (spreading harmful rumours) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
He has several cases including one for attempt to murder registered against him. He was handed over to Dharavi police in connection with an Arms Act case, the official added.
Meanwhile, Last week, the Bhoiwada police had also questioned a teenager and are searching for two men who made frivolous complaints, alleging that several men allegedly claimed to belong to a terrorist group planning to target religious places and incite riots. The police have tracked down the 15-year-old and handed him over to his parents, the police had said.
According to the police, For the past several months, various police stations in Mumbai have been receiving letters identifying individuals as members of the PFI (Popular Front of India). These letters claim that the mentioned individuals have come from Jammu and Kashmir and have received training to sow discord between communities and incite riots. The letters also included mobile numbers of these individuals, alleging that they have been trained to target religious places.
(with PTI inputs)
