A day after the Special Task Force of Assam and West Bengal arrested two persons from Murshidabad, the West Bengal Police on Friday said that the two had links with the banned terrorist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and one was a “sleeper cell” in a “sleeper cell”. Recruitment Campaign” in West Bengal.
ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar while talking to mediapersons said, “ABT was banned in Bangladesh, India, UK and USA during 2013-2015. They are known to have set up sleeper cells for killing bloggers, looting and terror activities in India between 2013-2015. They were mainly recruiting from two places – Murshidabad and Alipurduar. They had planned to carry out terrorist activities in the Chicken’s Neck of the Siliguri Corridor. A man named Farhan was the head of the sleeper cell.
A police investigation revealed that the ABT was trying to “use communal rifts and all economic disparities to identify youth and thereby raise youth useful for their ideology”. For this, the head of ABT along with his close associate Farhan sent a person named Saad Radi to India for recruitment. Radhi visited three states – West Bengal, Assam and Kerala – during his recruitment drive, police said.
Gaurav Sharma, IG STF, West Bengal said, “There was an input and well-coordinated joint operation in which Assam Police needed our support. ABT was trying to set up sleeper cells in the country. They were recruiting youths in the country.
Radhi was later arrested in Assam in 17-18 consecutive raids at one time and arrested in Kerala. Abbas Sheikh and Minarul Sheikh were arrested from Hariharpara in Murshidabad. The police recovered four mobile phones, a pen drive, Islamic religious books and fake documents from the two suspects.
The Assam STF has also arrested five from Assam and one from Kerala.
“Manirul, a 48-year-old pump mechanic, was trying to set up a small madrasa for 10-12 students. Abbas, 29, has a previous criminal record, was arrested in POCSO and kidnapping cases and was released on bail after serving two years in jail,” Sharma said.
ADG Govt said Abbas and Meenarul, part of an eight-member group arrested by Bengal, Kerala and Assam police, were arrested by STF Assam in a raid in Murshidabad with the help of West Bengal Police. “We recovered a 16GB pen drive, some literature and fake identity cards from two suspects, identified as Abbas and Minarul Shaikh. We suspect that they were part of a sleeper module aiming to create instability in sensitive areas of South and North Bengal as well as the seven sister states of the Northeast. They were setting up bases in Murshidabad and Alipurduar districts with plans to eliminate prominent Hindu leaders in eastern and northeastern regions and carry out attacks similar to the 2015 blogger hacking in Bangladesh,” he said.
“A joint inquiry will be conducted, we are keen to know their plans and actions in Bengal, on our behalf and in our country. The way they set up the cell, it is clear that they were trying to disrupt the country by carrying out terrorist activities. The specific targets were chicken necks. , which is the Siliguri corridor, so recruitment was an important part of their activities, including procurement of arms for the purpose. We are keen to find out more modules involved,” Sharma added.
The government also pointed out that Murshidabad has become a transit route for members of banned Bangladeshi organizations such as Ansar-al-Islam. The police said that the two arrested persons and others have been assigned the task of purchasing weapons to carry out destructive activities in the area.
– with PTI
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