Finding them to be involved in a deep rooted conspiracy to spark subversive activities in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has ordered further probe against two members of Popular Front of India (PFI).
The two were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) from Gudamba area in Lucknow and arms and explosives were recovered from their possession.
Reports said that after taking both the accused on five days custody remand on Wednesday, the government handed over the probe to the UP ATS.
A case has also been registered with the ATS to make an in-depth probe.
It may be mentioned here that on Tuesday, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had said that a team of STF arrested Asad Badruddin and Firoz Khan both PFI members, from near Gudamba area in Lucknow.
The duo are from Kerala and had planned to trigger explosions at Basant Panchami celebrations by Hindu organisations, and at other strategic locations in UP.
Their aim was to create religious enmity in society by doing so, Kumar said and disclosed that the STF recovered 16 high explosive devices with battery detonators, a pistol and live cartridges from the possession of the accused.
The PFI, which claims to be a social youth organisation based in Kerala, has been under the radar of the police in several states. In 2019, many of its members were arrested across Uttar Pradesh in connection with violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Recently, the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against office-bearers of PFI and its students' wing Campus Front of India (CFI) for allegedly conspiring to incite violence and disturb harmony in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, where a Dalit woman was gang-raped by four upper caste men last September.
The ED claimed that more than Rs 100 crore were deposited in the accounts of PFI over the years and a very large part of this money was feared to have come in from West Asia.
The organisation is also being probed for its alleged role in Delhi riots last year.
Kumar said the STF came to know about PFI's plan to unleash terror attacks in Uttar Pradesh and recruit educated youngsters in the organisation.
"We came to know from intelligence sources that two members of PFI have come to UP by train. We formed a team and alerted our sources to track them," ADG (STF) Amitabh Yash said.