Popular Front of India approaches Supreme Court over union govt’s ban
New Delhi: The Popular Front of India (PFI) has approached the Supreme Court challenging a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs designating it and its affiliated organizations as 'unlawful associations' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
A bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi was scheduled to hear a special leave petition filed by the Popular Front of India against a UAPA tribunal's decision upholding the central government's ban earlier this year. However, the hearing has been deferred following a letter seeking adjournment.
In September of the previous year, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification declaring the Popular Front of India, along with its various associates, affiliates, or fronts, as 'unlawful associations' under the UAPA. The decision was made due to alleged connections with terrorist organizations and involvement in acts of terror. This move followed extensive nationwide search, detainment, and arrest operations against the PFI and its members. The ban, effective immediately, was set to last for five years under Section 3(1) of the UAPA. Affiliates listed in the notification included the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.
In March this year, a UAPA tribunal led by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court upheld the central government's ban on the Popular Front of India and its associated entities. The tribunal, comprising a single high court judge, was mandated to assess the validity of the government's declaration according to anti-terror legislation. Justice Sharma was appointed as the presiding officer of the tribunal by the Centre in October 2022.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
