'Was radicalising youths': Assam Police busts terror cell linked to Bangladesh; 11 arrested

GUWAHATI: Assam police busted a module of Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) with the arrest of 11 alleged operatives of the Bangladesh-based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) offshoot formed in 2018. Investigators said IMK expanded its base in the state after Bangladesh's Aug 2024 regime change that led to the exit of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Of the 11 people held by Assam police's Special Task Force (STF), 10 were picked up from Assam and one from Tripura in operations since late Monday night. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma acknowledged the threat from such modules. "Fundamentalists are definitely active in Assam. The issue will remain for long as Bangladesh is Assam's neighbouring country," Sarma said.




STF chief and Guwahati police commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta said IMK used encrypted social media groups to radicalise and recruit youths in Assam and nearby states, spread propaganda, raise funds through hawala and UPI channels, and facilitate cross-border travel for training.

"Probe 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. 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.

Nasim Uddin was among those 11 arrested. Multiple charges under BNS, 2023 and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 were slapped on the suspects.

Mahanta said IMK, banned in India, was formed 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 (Battle against India)".

Mahanta said IMK propagated an ideology aligned with proscribed transnational jihadi organisations and 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, Bengal and Tripura were being radicalised, recruited, financially mobilised. IMK disseminates extremist propaganda advocating violent jihad and the armed conquest of India."

Investigators found that some Assam-based IMK operatives had travelled to Bangladesh earlier this year on valid passports and visas for training and coordination, Mahanta further said.
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