A senior citizen was arrested for allegedly planting notes to hail the outlawed Popular Front of India. The Khandeshwar police in Navi Mumbai alleged that Eknath Kawde (68), secretary of Nil Angan Cooperative Housing Society in New Panvel’s Sector 19, planted the notes outside some flats, following a dispute with flat owners.
For the unversed, the Popular Front of India, an Islamic organisation, was banned for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged terror activities.
The residents of the society noticed handwritten notes saying, ‘PFI Zindabad’, pasted near the doorbells of some flats on June 23.
According to a report, a resident of the building found two notes with the number 786 and an equal number of firecrackers before some members of this predominantly Hindu society reported the matter to the police.
Police Inspector Chandrakant Landge told a section of the media that Kawde was arrested under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with provocation and intent to cause rioting. “He is in our custody,” Landge said.
“He (Kawde) had an intention to cause trouble. He has confessed to the crime and legal action will be taken,” the police said in a press note.
Kawde reportedly told the police that it may have been a conspiracy by a Muslim family. The report claimed that Kawde said flat owners with whom he had dispute must have tried to frame him.
The police, however, scrutinised CCTV footage that revealed Kawde had been making multiple trips to the terrace. He confessed to his actions on being questioned about his movements, the police said.
