JOIN USKolkata Police’s Special Task Force (STF) apprehended Anwar Hossain Mullik in the city late on Saturday night from central Kolkata on suspicions of him being an Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative.
The police have recovered gelatine sticks, detonators and Rs 1.90 lakh in fake Indian currency notes from him.
Police and STF sources said that Mullik’s latest visit to the city was also to supply explosives to someone here, although the investigators don't know whether he had already completed his deal.
STF officers believe that Mullik will be able to provide significant information on IM operations and key operatives in eastern India.
According to police sources, the 42-year-old man from Chapra in Nadia district, around 80 km from Kolkata, was reportedly involved in smuggling explosives from Bangladesh on behalf of top IM leader Yasin Bhatkal.
“Hossain had smuggled in explosives from Bangladesh for the first time in 2010 on two occasions. Bhatkal had come to the city to receive the consignments,” said a senior police officer.
Kolkata Police’s STF is taking extra caution with Mullik, given his arrest just before a series blasts at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.
While the police have booked Mullik on charges of sedition, waging war against the nation and smuggling explosives and fake currency, city police’s legal counsel pleaded before a special Kolkata court on Sunday that preliminary probe has found direct links between Mullik and terror outfits.
The City Sessions Court remanded Mullik in 14 days of judicial custody.