With Jamaat men out of jail, hotels, ‘sensitive’ areas on Bengal cop radar
Times of India | 9 August 2024
Representative image KOLKATA: Security agencies throughout Bengal have stepped up vigil after reports of several terror suspects being among the 709 prisoners who escaped from two back-to-back jailbreaks in Bangladesh in the last few days. Both state and central agencies have been gathering information from the neighbouring country, with cops in Kolkata keeping a close eye on the city and the suburbs.
On Tuesday, a mob armed with sticks stormed the Sherpur district jail, freeing more than 500 prisoners.The same day, in Gazipur, some 209 inmates fled from the Kashimpur high-security prison. In the latter incident, prison guards opened fire to stop the inmates from fleeing, killing six, including three militants.
One of those who have escaped is Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha. Haque was arrested in 2023 by Bangladesh’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit based on Indian intelligence, and later questioned by Bengal cops in Dhaka. Authorities believe another of those who escaped is Niyamatullah, named by a module busted in Kolkata’s Haridevpur as its leader. Sources said they were also probing whether Abdul Alim (operating commander of Jamaatul Muslimeen) and Zakaria Mondal, believed to have been in the same jail, also fled.
With these four terror operatives — from Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla Team — believed to be on the run, law enforcers have increased surveillance in hotels, guesthouses and “sensitive spots” around Bengal.
Kolkata Police has asked hotels to keep a detailed background of guests. Local cops have been asked to collect these details daily — even twice a day in central Kolkata and added areas — and report to Lalbazar and the Special Branch. Multiple localities where JMB personnel had hidden in Kolkata earlier are also under scanner.
Bidhannagar cop teams are doing rounds of spots near airport, Narayanpur, Baguiati, Rajarhat, New To wn and Bhangar.
“We are also keeping a check on brokers who have earlier helped criminals from Bangladesh to get temporarily settled in Bengal,” an officer said.
BSF DG Daljit Singh Chawdhary met district officials and representatives of trade bodies to alert them about the possibility of criminal influx from Bangladesh.
“We have been asked not to allow anyone without checking their IDs,” said the representative of a traders’ organization in Bongaon.