'Popular Front of India' Mobilizes Rs 120 Cr during CAA Protests, NIA Accused Assam's Abdul Samad among Recipients: Report

New Delhi, January 27, 2020:

The Popular Front of India (PFI), a radical Islamist outfit, has mobilized a whopping 120 crore of rupees during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in December 2019 and Assam’s Abdul Samad, who is an accused in a National Investigation Agency (NIA) case, is one of the recipients.

According to a scrutiny of the bank transactions of Popular Front of India, there has been a deposit of Rs. 3.10 lakh to the bank account of Abdul Samad. It is interesting to note that during the same time, Assam had witnessed massive protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA (then Bill).

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Samad has been an NIA accused and his name appearing in the list of recipients has led to the bigger question of his linkage with the anti-CAA stir.

A scrutiny of PFI’s bank transactions revealed that Rs 120.5 crore was credited to six bank accounts. The amount transferred to those accounts was withdrawn on the same day or within two to three days, leaving very nominal balance in these accounts.

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A notification on the PFI bank transactions stated, “During the course of the investigation, 73 bank accounts maintained by PFI (27), its related entity namely Rehab India Foundation (9) and certain individuals/entities (37) in 17 different banks have been detected. The scrutiny of the transaction as recorded in these bank accounts revealed that Rs. 120.5 crore was credited in these bank accounts, which were withdrawn on the same day or within two or three days, leaving very nominal balance in these accounts.”

The mode of deposits in these accounts was mainly cash, claimed the report, adding that the accounts of Syndicate Bank in Nehru Place of New Delhi revealed a new trend of huge and multiple cash deposit in Western UP’s Bharaich, Bijnor, Hapur, Shamli, Dasna.

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The report said that 77 lakh rupees were transferred to Kapil Sibal, four lakh rupees to Indira Jaising, 11 lakh to Dushyant A Dave, 3.10 to Abdul Samad, who is accused in an NIA case, 1.65 crore to PFI, Kashmir and 1.17 crore to New Jothi Group.

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