8 arrested from Assam, West Bengal, Kerala in simultaneous raids
Guwahati, Dec 20: A global terror module linked to Pakistan and Bangladesh was busted in a coordinated operation titled “Operation Praghat” by state police of Assam, West Bengal and Karnataka.
Eight persons, including five from Assam and a Bangladeshi national, affiliated to global terrorist organisation Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), were arrested in the operation by a Special Task Force (STF) of Assam police in coordination with Kerala and West Bengal police.
The persons were arrested during simultaneous operations conducted during the intervening night of December 17-18 in all the three states.
The arrested individuals are – Sad Radi from Bangladesh linked to ABT; Minarul Sheikh (40) and Abbas Ali (33), both from Murshidabad, West Bengal; Nur Islam Mandal (40), Abdul Karim Mandal (30), Mojibar Rahman (46), and Hamidul Islam (34), all from Kokrajhar, Assam and Enamul Hoque (29), Bilasipara, Dhubri, Assam.
“Incriminating documents and mobile phones with technical evidence seized from the accused indicate their continuous communication across the border with Bangladesh and Pakistan-based entities over the last couple of months,” stated a press release.
The STF recovered mobile phones with various suspicious apps, used for communicating with their handlers in Bangladesh/Pakistan.
It has been found that the module was working to establish sleeper cells across the country, particularly in Assam and West Bengal.
Incriminating texts with distorted religious beliefs relating to jihad, both in technical and physical form and religious books with distorted narratives, printed and published in Bangladesh, were found with them.
The ABT linkman Sad Radi was arrested from Kerala while his Bangladeshi national card was seized from the house of one Nur Islam Mandal of Joypur Namapara village in Kokrajhar, Assam.
Four more persons, who were picked up by STF team in Kokrajhar during the inquiry, were released after preliminary investigation.
The arrested persons played a pivotal role in aiding Sad Radi in his mission to identify, recruit and indoctrinate individuals, according to police.
Through Radi, they were in contact with Farhan Israk, a close associate of ABT chief Jasimuddin Rahmani.
Israk was controlling the sleeper cell set up by the arrested accused Nur Islam Mondal and Mazibar Rahman, directly, police said.
Mondal, who was earlier arrested in Dhubri and was on bail, along with Rahman visited several locations across West Bengal allegedly to recruit youth to ABT and AQIS (al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent).
They also hatched plans to prominent religious and Hindu leaders including those from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), police said.
