'IS man' who researched three popular figures caught on train

Kolkata/Suri/Burdwan: A suspected IS member, who was on Monday caught by the CID on a Rampurhat train, had researched on three popular personalities from

Bengal

. The officers have seized an improvised gun and ammunition from the resident of

Birbhum

's

Labhpur

, who was apparently on his way to meet two aides.

The arrest comes within days of Indian security agencies expressing fear that extremist group members might sneak into the country once the

Bangladesh

authorities launched a flush-out operation following the

Dhaka

attack. This second arrest in

Bengal-a

polytechnic student at a college in

Burdwan

's

Kanksha

was earlier picked up by

NIA-has

led the agencies to believe the IS has spread its tentacles to Bengal as well, reaching out to impressionable youngsters, mostly though the internet.

Acting on a tip-off from central security agencies, CID officers started trailing 25-year-old Mohd

Masiuddin

alias

Musa

alias Majunu Sk from Howrah after he reached Kolkata by a train and then boarded the Howrah-Rampurhat Viswabharati Fast passenger; he was apparently headed for Amodpur in Birbhum where he was to meet at least two of his associates, who are also likely to be questioned. "On reaching Howrah Station from Chennai, Masiuddin went to B B D Bag and bought a dagger before returning to the station to take the train to Birbhum. He is yet to confess why he bought the dagger but we have evidence he was researching three popular figures of the state," an officer said. But before he could reach his destination, CID officers caught Masiuddin as the train reached Burdwan. Only after 10 hours of intense interrogation by CID and central agencies did the officers decide to arrest him. "We took the accused to some locations and recovered a 13-inch dagger, an improvised small firearm and three rounds of ammunition from him, besides an

Android

phone," said

Dilip Adak

, DIG (operations).

Officers said their suspicion was first raised from Masiuddin's emails and calls to some nationals in Syria,

Afghanistan

and Bangladesh. Though CID officers denied to have been able to link some of his monetary transactions to

Syria

and Afghanistan, they maintained his correspondence with Syrian IS leaders began a few years ago. One such leader was IS leader in India Safi Armar, who was rumoured to have been killed in an US drone attack. "But our information is he still communicates with possible recruits," said a senior officer.

The investigators, however, remained tight-lipped about reports about foreign currency being recovered from Masiuddin. "For the time being, we have booked him under Arms Act," said Adak.

Masiuddin, apparently an expert in eight languages, has claimed to the police he had been living with his wife and kids at Tirrupur, Tamil Nadu, for the past seven years, working as a grocer. But the police said he had cleared his HS exams from Kolkata with flying colours. The investigators did not face much difficulty in tracing Masiuddin's home at

Registry Para

in Labhpur, as his his father

Nasiruddin

is a popular cleric in the local mosque. Not surprisingly though, his parents said they had little to say about him. His mother

Jakira Bibi

said, "Musa seldom comes here. After his wedding seven years ago, he lived in Chennai and didn't send us money. We have no idea what he does." His father, too, remained mum. Two of Musa's brothers also work outside the state, though his youngest brother lived at home. All the members, however, maintained Masiuddin left the village for "better prospect as he was highly educated", a trait noticed among all IS recruits.

A terror hideout was also unearthed at Birbhum's

Kirnahar

in October, 2014 , after Khagragarh explosion, Kirnahar around fifteen kilometers away from Labhpur . The mastermind of that module - Kausur Seikh - is still absconding.(With inputs from in Burdwan)