Popular Front of India (PFI) state secretary Mohammed Sajid Qureshi, a software engineer, is in custody of Pune Police till August 17, after his arrest for allegedly trying to create communal strife through posters claiming a Hindutva hand behind blasts in the country.

The police had arrested Qureshi (38) and aide Samsher Pathan (33) for putting up the posters in the wee hours of August 9. The police said the posters were aimed at creating communal tension ahead of the Ganesh festival and Ramzan.

Police sources said the movement of radical PFI members in the city had been under the scanner after some members of the outfit in Kerala were arrested on charges of chopping off the hand of a college professor, T J Joseph, last month for allegedly hurting Muslim sentiments.

The police said Qureshi works with a software company in Hinjewadi and Pathan runs a tailoring shop in Camp. On Monday, they and other PFI activists allegedly put up the posters in Kondhwa and other areas of the city.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Pune-software-man-held-for-PFI-link/660066