Maha: Elderly man held for pasting pro-PFI stickers, tying cracker bombs inside housing society

The accused had stuck some PFI Zindabad stickers in the housing society in New Panvel and also tied cracker bombs as well as incense sticks outside a couple of flats, he said.Around 12.15 am on June 23, some stickers hailing banned organisation Popular Front of India PFI were found to be pasted at the entrance of the society and some flats.

Days after some stickers hailing banned outfit PFI were found stuck inside a building in Navi Mumbai, police on Wednesday arrested a 68-year-old man residing there for allegedly pasting them ''out of mischief'' as there was a dispute between the office-bearers of the housing society and some of its residents, an official said. The accused had stuck some ''PFI Zindabad'' stickers in the housing society in New Panvel and also tied cracker bombs as well as incense sticks outside a couple of flats, he said.

''Around 12.15 am on June 23, some stickers hailing banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) were found to be pasted at the entrance of the society and some flats. Also, cracker bombs and incense sticks tied outside a couple of other flats,'' senior inspector Chandrakant Landge of Khandeshwar police station said. An offence under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and others was registered at that time, he said.

The probe team worked on various inputs and arrested the man, who is a member of the same housing society, the police official said. ''There was some dispute between the office-bearers of the housing society and some members. In order to put a section of the members into trouble, the accused indulged in this mischievous act and pasted pro-PFI stickers,'' he added.

The local police are carrying out further probe into the crime it was stated.

In September last year, the central government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for five years under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), accusing them of having ''links'' with global terror groups like ISIS.