Image for representation.
The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) arrested two persons suspected to belong to Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a militant group in Bangladesh, from Nowda in Murshidabad district on Monday.
This follows the recent arrest of two others suspected to be ABT members from the same district on December 18 this year, along with nine others who were apprehended in other States.
According to the West Bengal Police, the ABT is a splinter group of Bangladesh-based terrorist organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. It is outlawed in India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Police sources said the two suspected members arrested on Monday — 24-year-old Sajibul Islam and 26-year-old Mustakim Mondal — are residents of Nowda’s Durlabhpur village and Bhola village, respectively.
Mr. Islam, according to the police, is a cousin of Saad Radi, a Bangladeshi national who was arrested from Kerala in a coordinated inter-State police operation earlier this month. Mr. Mondal is believed to be Mr. Radi’s friend.
West Bengal STF officials had said earlier that Mr. Radi was sent from Bangladesh to India by a close associate of the ABT chief to influence Indian youth, conduct recruitment activities, and build sleeper cells. Mr. Radi was allegedly involved in setting up sleeper cells in Kerala, West Bengal, and Assam.
Mr. Islam and Mr. Mondal, Mr. Radi’s alleged associates, were employed as contractual labourers and glassworkers. They have been charged with complaints of sheltering militants and being involved in terrorist activities.
“After Radi’s arrest, we kept a close watch on the movement of his relatives and associates in Murshidabad,” police sources said.
The police have sought custody of Mr. Islam and Mr. Mondal. They might be taken to a different State on transit remand as well, police sources said.
Published – December 31, 2024 08:47 pm IST