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A suspected member of the Campus Front of India (CFI), the students’ wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), was detained at the Trivandrum airport in Kerala in connection with an alleged conspiracy to stoke violence after the Hathras case, said a press statement by UP Police on Saturday.
Police said accused Rauf Sharif’s name came to light during questioning of the four other accused who were arrested in Mathura while on their way to Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit woman who was allegedly gangraped and murdered. The four men were journalist Siddique Kappan (41), Atiq-ur-Rahman (25), Masood Ahmed (26) and Alam.
Police said Sharif was allegedly providing financial support to Rahman and Ahmed, who are PFI members, to instigate riots.
The UP Police issued a look-out notice against Sharif on November 18, said the release.
Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh confirmed that Sharif was detained at the airport. Sources said Sharif was also wanted by the Enforcement Directorate in a criminal case.
On October 5, Mathura police detained the four men at Maant toll plaza in Maathura. A day later, they were booked for allegedly being part of a larger conspiracy behind their visit to Hathras. They were booked under IPC sections 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, etc) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.