Touts in Bengal arranged passports for Bangla terror outfit men: Cops
Times of India | 29 December 2024
123 Kolkata: Operatives of the banned terror outfit of Bangladesh, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), took help from touts in Bengal to cross the international border and then arrange for Indian passports and other citizenship documents, said cops on Saturday. The ABT operatives entering India were asked to arrange for the safe transit of the outfit's leaders, including the Bengal-Assam module head, Saad Rabi, cops said. These revealations came to the forefront while cops were questioning 11 ABT members arrested so far.
The ABT operatives, who would manage to enter Bengal with fake documents, attended local fairs and madrasas. They would then propagate the principles of ABT at such events, cops claimed. Investigators said they had access to videos of Saad attending village melas and functions. In one video recorded in Murshidabad, Saad is apparently seen giving a call for Khilafat, or the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate, while attending a soiree.
The ABT men also recruited their operatives online and imparted virtual lessons to them. Cops said the eleventh arrested ABT member, Shahinur Islam, was imparting the lessons. The Assam police claimed that they had recovered two books, a PAN card, an Aadhaar card, a passport, and a mobile phone from Islam.
Police investigations revealed that ABT was attempting to identify youngsters using communal fissures and economic disparities and thus would pick up youths, who were useful for their propagating their ideologies. They were mainly recruiting from two places – Murshidabad and Alipurduar, claimed cops.
"They were planning terror activities in the Siliguri corridor. The Bangladeshi national Farhan was the head of the sleeper cell," said Gaurav Sharma, IG (Bengal STF). Cops said under the leadership of Ishraq and Rajshahi resident Saad, ABT began establishing a new militant branch in Bengal. "Nur Islam Mondal and Majibur Rahman, who were arrested by Assam Police, initially began frequently travelling to Murshidabad and Jalpaiguri. It was through them that Minarul and Abbas got inducted.
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