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Day after arrest, four Jamaat-e-Mujahideen Bangladesh operatives sent to police custody
They entered India and got fake ID cards from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, said another officer familiar with the investigation.
The four Jamaat-e-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives arrested in Bhopal on Sunday entered the country illegally over the past two years to set up sleeper cells in different parts of the country, Madhya Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) officers who were part of the investigation said on Monday.
“The accused, Fazhar Ali, 32, Mohammad Aqueel, 24, Zaduruddin Pathan, 24 and Fazhar Zainul Abdeen, 32, all are residents of Bangladesh, have been renamed by the JMB’s top leaders during training. They knew each other with changed names only. They were sent to Bhopal at different times to prepare the sleeper cell. They are not educated in modern education but are tech savvy and have expertise in religious knowledge,” said one of the officers, asking not to be named.
ATS deputy IGP,Dr Ashish, said, “They (the accused) were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Foreigners Act 1946. They were produced before the court which sent them to a police custody of 14 days.”
“We are taking help of a language expert to understand the more than 1,000 pages of documents seized from their possession. We are also trying to find out financial sources. We are also interrogating a few locals,” he added
“In Bhopal, they were visiting Madarsas and Masjids to make contacts. They also distributed Jihadi literature in Nishtapura area a few weeks ago. However, they said they received a very bleak response from the residents of Bhopal. They informed that they have a network in a few other cities of other states and their claims are being established,” the officer above added.
“They entered India and got fake ID cards from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Two locals helped them in finding accommodation at two places in Bhopal. One of the accused is enrolled at an educational institute for religious studies. ATS is investigating the institute,” said another officer familiar with the investigation.
On Monday morning, home minister Narottam Mishra said, “A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is being formed to investigate the matter. By issuing an alert to the state police, the suspects are being identified and interrogated in other districts of MP.”
An ATS team carried out raids in Aishbagh and Karond areas in the early hours of Sunday and made the arrests. The accused were arrested from rented accommodations in both localities. A large quantity of jihadi literature, electronic equipment and incriminating documents has been found from the above accused.
