Work pass not renewed for Indian who funded extremist group
An Indian national working in Singapore was found to be soliciting donations for the now-banned Islamic fundamentalist group the Popular Front of India (PFI).
In response to queries, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said Baharudeen Sahul Hameed was a work pass holder in Singapore at the time, and was investigated for his alleged links with the PFI.
Although he was a PFI supporter, there was no evidence to suggest he posed a threat to Singapore, and he left the country when his work pass was not renewed, said ISD.
“ISD’s investigations did not surface any information to indicate that Hameed posed an imminent security threat to Singapore or that the donations he solicited were for terrorist acts.
“Due to his links to the PFI, Hameed’s work pass was not renewed, and he left Singapore on September 21, 2022.”
Earlier in June, Indian media reports said Hameed was found to be raising funds for the PFI from Singapore and other places. He was arrested when he landed in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, the reports added.
The PFI is an extremist group that was banned by the Indian government in September 2022. About 250 people linked to the group were arrested in the same month, according to media reports.
The Indian government has cited the group’s alleged links with banned Islamist groups – the Students Islamic Movement of India and the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh – as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the BBC reported.
Members of the group have been linked to several incidents of political violence, including the beheading of a Hindu man in the western state of Rajasthan in June 2002.
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