India bans Muslim group for alleged terrorist activities

India’s government banned a Muslim organization for five years, accusing it Wednesday of funding terrorist activities, providing armed training to its supporters and radicalizing people for anti-India activities.
The ban followed the arrests and detentions of nearly 200 members of the Popular Front of India and raids on its offices this month.
A counsel for the PFI rejected the accusations and accused investigating agencies of fabricating evidence and targeting the group.
Muslims comprise more than 14% of India’s nearly 1.4 billion people. Tensions between Muslims and Hindus have been rising, which critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi attribute to his government’s Hindu-nationalist agenda.
The government accused the PFI of ties with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.