Synopsis
Eight members of the Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team were arrested across India. Two arrests were made in West Bengal, sparking political debate. One arrest occurred in Kerala, and five in Assam. A Bangladeshi national was among those arrested. Police seized evidence and are investigating. The arrests highlight the ongoing threat of terrorism.
ANIKolkata: Commenting on the recent arrest of two members of the Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) from West Bengal, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh on Sunday blamed the Modi government, saying “border is the central government’s lookout”.
His comment came following the recent arrest of eight members of ABT, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) terrorist organisation. Among the eight terrorists, two were arrested from West Bengal, one from Kerala and five others from Assam.
The TMC leader stated that this kind of infiltration was also happening in other states of India.
“Our state is a border state, and the border is the central government’s lookout. The border is not in the hands of the West Bengal government. This infiltration is happening in other states as well,” Ghosh said.
According to the IGP of Assam STF, Partha Sarathi Mahanta, the arrested members have been sent to police custody for 10 days by a Guwahati court on Friday.
“All eight accused arrested were produced before the court, and they have been remanded to 10 days’ police custody. We also seized 4 pen drives and other incriminating documents, which we are analysing. Among the 8 arrested persons, one is a Bangladeshi national. All follow-up actions are underway,” Mahanta said.
Bangladeshi national, identified as 36-year-old Md. Sad Radi, alias Shab Seikh, was arrested by Assam police from Kerala.
The Assam STF Chief also said that the Bangladeshi national was a resident of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and had entered into India in November to spread their nefarious ideology and create sleeper cells amongst like-minded individuals across India, so as to initiate violent and subversive actions.
“Md. Sad Radi visited Assam and West Bengal to meet sleeper-cell activists of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) before he moved to Kerala for the same purpose, and the Assam STF team arrested him from Kerala with the help of Kerala police. Two other persons named Minarul Sheikh (40) and Md. Abbas Ali (33) were arrested from West Bengal with the help of West Bengal police. On the other hand, five others, namely Nur Islam Mandal (40), Abdul Karim Mandal (30), Mojibar Rahman (46), Hamidul Islam (34), and Enamul Hoque (29), were arrested from Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts of Assam,” Partha Sarathi Mahanta said.
