West Bengal: Sonarpur man held for JMB link

SONARPUR: The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday night arrested 50-year-old Abdul Mannan for his alleged links with the terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Mannan, a resident of Atghara, Subhasgram, in Sonarpur was arrested in connection to an ongoing investigation of radicalisation of the youth by the JMB.
According to sources, Mannan alias Bachu has ancestral links with Bangladesh’s Barisal.He has been living at Atghara for four years at a rented accommodation. “The case relates to conspiracy of online radicalisation and recruitment of vulnerable Muslim youths by JMB/AQIS (Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) in India and Bangladesh. The NIA had registered the case on August 6, 2021. Till now, five accused have been arrested,” the agency said in a statement.
Searches at Mannan’s residence led to the seizure of electronic devices, fake Indian voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards and other papers used to create identification documents. “The accused was involved in arranging fake Indian identity documents for the terrorists of JMB who had illegally entered India,” the NIA said.
In July, Kolkata Police Special Task Force arrested three Bangladeshi nationals — Sk Shabbir, Joseph and Rabiul Islam — who had illegally entered India and were members of a terrorist organisation. They had allegedly hatched a conspiracy with associates to wage war by recruiting and motivating vulnerable Muslim youths against Indian government.
They had also tried to establish a ‘Caliphate’ in Bangladesh by removing the democratically elected government and were allegedly propagating their ideology by following, sending and sharing Jihadi texts, posts and videos via a Facebook profile under ‘Sekh Sabbir’.