Assam STF busts IMK module: ‘Purva Akash’ social media used for recruitment; promotes violent Jihad, armed conquest of India

GUWAHATI: Assam Police STF has busted a module of Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), a Bangladesh-based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) offshoot formed in 2018. Police said it expanded its base in Assam after Bangladesh's Aug 2024 regime change.A total of 11 people were arrested - 10 from different parts of lower Assam and one from Tripura - for alleged involvement in fundamentalist activities linked to IMK. Special Task Force chief and Guwahati Police commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta, addressing a press conference on an operation carried out late Monday night, said IMK used encrypted social media groups to radicalise and recruit youths in Assam and nearby states, spread propaganda, raise funds through hawala or UPI, and facilitate cross-border travel for training. Those arrested from Barpeta were Nasim Uddin alias Najimuddin alias Tamim (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Siddique Ali (46), Sharuk Hussain (22) and Dilbar Razak (26). From Baksa, Rasidul Aalam (28) and Mahibul Khan (25) were arrested. Junab Ali (38) was arrested from Chirang, Afrahim Hussain (24) from Darrang, and Jagir Miah (33) from Tripura. Police said multiple charges under BNS, 2023 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 were applied.Special Task Force chief and Guwahati Police Commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta said IMK, which is banned in India, was formed in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud alias Imam Mahmud Habibullah alias Sohail, described as a former JMB member who claims to be the amir (leader) of IMK and propagates the ideology of "Ghazwatul Hind". "Investigation revealed that following the regime change in Bangladesh in Aug 2024, top leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) issued directions to IMK leadership to activate and expand its Indian modules. In furtherance thereof, Bangladeshi nationals Umar and Khalid were assigned to coordinate Assam-based activities. The head of the Assam cell is one Nasim Uddin alias Tamim of Barpeta Road in Barpeta district in Assam," Mahanta said. Mahanta said the group operated through secure social media platforms. "One such social media group is 'Purva Akash', which functions as a principal communication and recruitment platform. People from Assam, West Bengal and Tripura were being radicalised, recruited, financially mobilised and connected with the said outfit, including individuals possessing Indian Passports and having prior visits to Bangladesh, as well as known former members of proscribed terrorist organisations," he said. Mahanta said IMK projects itself as a "Ghazwatul Hind-centric extremist module and propagates an ideology aligned with proscribed transnational jihadi organisations." "IMK disseminates extremist propaganda advocating violent jihad and the armed conquest of India. It has further been disclosed that radical literature authored by IMK leadership, including 'Sarbobhoumo Khamatar Malik Allah' and 'Ghazwatul Hind er Sonkhipto Alochona', were systematically circulated to indoctrinate cadres and sympathisers through online platforms. In Assam, such content was circulated using the encrypted social media platform," he said. Mahanta said the module maintained active cross-border links with Bangladesh-based leadership and that after the fall of the Hasina govt in 2024 and the release of IMK's amir, recruitment and mobilisation activities reportedly accelerated. Investigators found that some Assam-based operatives travelled to Bangladesh this year on valid passports and visas for training and coordination, he added. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Fundamentalists are active in Assam and issue of fundamenatlists will remain for long as Bangladesh is our neighbouring country."