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Shahid Choudhury, who was till recently the Muslim face of the CPI (M)-led Left Front Government in Tripura, had of late stepped down from the State Cabinet, after he was accused of helping Mohammed Mafijur Rahaman alias Mamun Mia, a citizen of Bangladesh, stay in Agartala illegally for several months.

“I have resigned to facilitate a free and fair probe,” said Choudhury. He, however, termed as ‘baseless’ the allegation of his links with the HuJI or helping Mamun obtain a permanent residence certificate, open a bank account and stay in the state capital with a fake name.

The Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar, ordered a probe by the State police’s Crime Investigation Department (CID).

Links with Mamun

The sleuths of the West Bengal Police arrested Mamun Mia from Agartala on March 27 last. He is suspected to be linked with Shamim and Alamgir — both militants of the Bangladesh-based Islamic militant organisation, Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI).

Shamim and Alamgir, both Bangladeshis, had been arrested from Howrah near Kolkata on January 16 last. The cops had recovered from them maps and documents related to deployment of Border Security Force (BSF) and locations of security forces’ camps along the ‘Chicken Neck Corridor’.

Shamim and Alamgir had reportedly told the interrogators that they had engaged a BSF head constable and an officer of the Indian Navy to get classified information about the defence and security establishments. The duo had also revealed their links with Mamun during interrogation. “We are trying to find out the details about Mamun Mia and the probe will also cover those who helped him stay in Tripura illegally,” said the State’s Director General of Police, K T D Singh. Mamun is currently lodged in a jail in West Bengal.