By IANS,
New Delhi : The Kerala-based Muslim group, the National Democratic Front (NDF), has denied links with terror groups after sacking a member who spoke to a terrorist before he was shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir.
NDF founder chairman E. Aboobacker said the group took action against the member, Abdul Jaleel, after the Kerala Police arrested him Oct 18 in Kannur for suspected links with a Jammu and Kashmir militant group.
The 37-year-old Jaleel allegedly had contacts with the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and they had contacted him on his mobile phone seeking help, the police said after arresting him.
“The NDF is an organisation, which consists of thousands of members. The moment the police arrested one of our members for having telephonic contacts with the terrorist killed Oct 9, we expelled him.
“We welcome any kind of investigation. We don’t have any terror links. We work for the unity and integrity of the country,” Aboobacker told IANS over telephone from Bangalore.
He insisted that the government had no right to ban the NDF on the strength of the arrested man’s links. “A ban should be served only after proper investigation. Otherwise we won’t accept it.”
The Kerala Police have confirmed the killing of four youngsters from Kerala in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have said that the youths were recruited by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.
A senior Kerala Police official told IANS on the condition of anonymity that one of the Muslim youths killed in Jammu and Kashmir also had links with the NDF.
Political parties including the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have demanded strong action against the NDF, which was formed in 1993 following the Babri mosque demolition in 1992.
Aboobacker said the government could take action if the NDF was found engaged in anti-national activities.
Jammu and Kashmir, he added, was an unquestionable part of India.
Aboobacker, currently chairman of the Popular Front of India, an umbrella organisation of south India-based Muslim organizations, said: “Before taking action against us, the government should take action against state BJP leaders who gave shelter to the criminals who gang raped a nun in Orissa.”