11 linked to Bangladesh-based extremist network arrested: Assam STF chief

SILCHAR: Assam police ram’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested 11 people allegedly linked to a Bangladesh-based ultra web during a co-ordinated multi-state operation carried out on the intervening night of December 29–30, officials said on Tuesday.According to Inspector General of Police (STF) Partha Sarathi Mahanta, the arrests were made across several districts of Assam, Tripura and West Bengal under Operation Pratighat, a counter-terror exercise intensified in recent months to neutralise radical activities in the region.Those arrested include residents of Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa, and Darrang districts in Assam, as well as one person from West Tripura district. One of the suspects was also arrested in West Bengal and is being brought to Assam for further questioning.Mahanta said the arrested individuals are associated with Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), a Bangladesh-based offshoot of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).He said the IMK module was founded in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud, also known as Imam Mahmud Habibullah or Sohail, a former JMB operative who claims to be the IMK’s Amir and promotes the extremist ideology of Ghazwatul Hind.“We have been closely monitoring jihadi activities in coordination with central intelligence agencies. Based on specific inputs, we uncovered the Imam Mahmuder Kafila module,” Mahanta told reporters.According to police, the Assam module was allegedly headed by Nasim Uddin alias Tamim (24), a resident of Barpeta Road, who has been identified as the state in-charge of IMK operations and was among those arrested.Investigators said Bangladeshi nationals Umar and Khalid were coordinating Assam-based activities from across the border.Some of the suspects had travelled to Bangladesh on Indian passports for meetings and training, while others were being encouraged to migrate with their families for arms training, police said.Investigators said the module had been active for several years and was involved in recruiting and radicalising local youths through encrypted social media platforms, particularly a group titled ‘Purba Akash’, which functioned as a key communication and recruitment channel.Police also found that IMK maintained ideological and operational links with other banned outfits such as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).Several clandestine meetings were held at local mosques in Assam and West Bengal from December 2024 to recruit local youths. “At one such meeting in Barpeta, IMK ideologues advocated armed struggle in India,” an official said.The STF said IMK’s operations were funded through hawala channels and small bank and UPI transactions. “Funds collected in Assam and Tripura were routed to Bangladesh to support extremist training and logistics. Lakhs of rupees were transferred through these channels,” police said.Mahanta described the latest action as the first phase of the current round of operations, adding that further phases would be launched based on actionable intelligence.“The network is not limited to Assam and West Bengal but has linkages with other parts of the country. Further details cannot be disclosed at this stage as operations are ongoing,” he said.Police said interrogation of suspects arrested during Operation Praghat revealed overlaps in communication methods, recruitment strategies and ideological dissemination used by multiple Bangladesh-based extremist outfits and their Indian offshoots.