NIA conducts searches in Bengal over Guj terror conspiracy case
Times of India | 14 November 2025
Kolkata: The National Investigation Agency (
) was among the multiple central and state security agencies that conducted searches at several locations in Bengal over the past 48 hours.
While the NIA raids at Dinhata in Cooch Behar, just like Nabagram in Murshidabad, were in connection with an al-Qaeda Gujarat terror conspiracy case involving four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants back in 2023, the state agencies on Thursday focused on those who were in touch with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists since 2023 but had no direct role with terror modules.
"The idea was to see that no sleeper cell has been activated again," said a state intelligence officer.
NIA teams searched premises linked to various suspects and their associates at select locations in Tripura, Meghalaya, Haryana and Gujarat, besides Bengal. The agency seized several digital devices and incriminating documents. The seized items have been sent for forensic tests, a source said.
The intelligence agencies — in coordination with relevant police stations and intelligence departments of Kolkata and Bengal — tried to find out which Bangladeshi, Afghan and Pakistani citizens have not returned to their countries even after expiry of their visas.
Over the past few years, several terrorists were arrested from areas around Kolkata. Sleeper cells of organizations like JMB, Lashkar-e-Taiba, HuJI and Ansarullah Bangla Team were also uncovered by intelligence police in Kolkata and several districts.
Efforts are being made to determine whether these old sleeper cells have become active again.