NIA arrests suspected JMB terrorist in West Bengal

Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency have arrested a suspected terrorist of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, an official said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of NIA personnel conducted a search operation in Subhasgram area and apprehended the Bangladeshi national on Tuesday.

The man entered India illegally around two years ago and he was picked up ahead of Kali Puja and Diwali festivals to be celebrated on Thursday.

"He has been involved in a fake identity card racket and has helped some locals get such bogus documents. He has visited several places in the country before he started residing in South 24 Parganas," the official told PTI.

Fake voter and Aadhaar cards and several documents related to the terror group were seized from the possession of the man, identified as Abdul Mannan, who is being interrogated.

The suspected JMB member used forged documents to get a rented accommodation in Subhasgram area and was staying there for the past few months, the official said.

The suspected JMB ultra, identified as Abdul Mannan, was remanded to NIA custody till November 8 by a special court in Kolkata on Wednesday.

He had sneaked into India from Bangladesh two years ago, NIA counsel Shyamal Ghosh submitted before the special court judge, seeking his custody for interrogation.

The accused has links with the four JMB terror operatives arrested in July from Haridevpur area in the southern outskirts of Kolkata, Ghosh told the court.

Since August 2020, the NIA has arrested 14 militants of the outfit from various states of the country, including West Bengal.

The JMB, which carried out a terror attack at a popular cafe in Dhaka in 2016, in which 22 people including 17 foreigners were killed, is trying to spread its tentacles in India, the NIA had said in 2019.