11 held in N-E for links to radical groups in Bangladesh

Addressing a press conference, Guwahati Police Commissioner Parthasarathi Mahanta said, "On the basis of intelligence inputs provided by central agencies, the Special Task Force (STF) carried out an operation last night in Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa and Darrang districts of Assam, besides Tripura. We have arrested a total of 11 jihadi elements, who were members of the Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) module. They were working under direct orders from Bangladesh-based groups."

Ten accused arrested from Assam were identified as Nasim Uddin alias Najimuddin alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22) and Md Dilbar Razak (26), while Jagir Miah (33) was nabbed from Tripura.

"The Indian security and intelligence apparatus has been keeping a hawk eye on jihadi activities in the Northeast, particularly in Assam," Mahanta said, adding that the IMK is a Bangladesh-based offshoot of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is banned in India.

"It has been reliably learnt that following the regime change in Bangladesh in August 2024, senior leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) issued directions to IMK leadership to activate and expand its Indian modules," the police commissioner said.