After an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operative was arrested in West Bengal, security agencies said that he had planned to target chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and also infiltrate the recently concluded students' protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by wearing a police uniform.
Mohammed Hamim Mondal, the alleged JeM operative, was arrested from Purba Bardhaman district on Friday and brought to Kolkata later that night for interrogation, IG (Special Task Force) Gaurav Sharma said, news agency PTI reported.
Sharma said the investigation established Mondal's links with Pakistan-based handlers and that he was working at their behest.
"The chief minister was one of the targets. Hamim had been assigned by Pakistan-based handlers the task of keeping a watch on the CM's movements. He was asked to gather information on the places the chief minister could remain unguarded," Sharma was quoted as saying.
The STF said that Mondal had also planned to infiltrate the recent students' protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by procuring a police uniform and carrying out sabotage.
{{/usCountry}}The STF said that Mondal had also planned to infiltrate the recent students' protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by procuring a police uniform and carrying out sabotage.
{{/usCountry}}According to the official, preliminary investigation revealed that several police officers and political leaders, apart from Adhikari, were on the radar of the terror module.
Honeytrap angle emerges
A honeytrap angle in the case also emerged after the STF on Friday arrested Arpita Sarkar, alleged to be Mondal's associate and "girlfriend", Officials claimed that the duo had conspired to honey-trap the son of a minister of state in West Bengal to abduct him and extort money from the family, the PTI report said.
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A senior STF officer said the conspiracy was orchestrated at the behest of Pakistan-based handlers linked to the Shahzad Bhatti gang.
"Our investigation has revealed a specific plan to lure the minister's son into a honey-trap, followed by kidnapping and blackmail. The conspiracy was directed by Pakistan-based handlers. We are probing the precise role of each accused and whether others were involved," the officer was quoted as saying.
The STF claimed Sarkar and Mondal had planned to cultivate personal relationships with influential persons to extract sensitive information on the instructions of their cross-border handlers.
Mondal was in touch with Pakistan-based handlers
Bengal STF sleuths said that they recovered international SIM cards issued in the United Kingdom and Mexico from the accused.
"The SIM cards are suspected to have been used for encrypted communication with handlers operating from abroad and to facilitate the strengthening of sleeper cells and the terror network in different parts of the country," Sharma said.
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The probe has further revealed that Mondal was allegedly radicalised through social media before coming in contact with Pakistan-based operatives linked to the Shahzad Bhatti group, he elaborated.
The agency claimed the accused was in contact with several Pakistan-based handlers through encrypted messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram as well as Element X and Session, after initially connecting with them on Instagram.
"During the investigation of his mobile phone and social media chat history, we have found some very serious information. He was in touch with several Pakistan-based handlers through encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram," Sharma said.
Investigators identified the handlers by the aliases 'Rana', 'Uzair', 'Abid Jatt 333' and 'Hamad', all of whom are suspected to be linked to the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti gang, which the STF alleged is involved in radicalisation, narco-terror activities and recruiting youths for extremist operations.
The probe into the module began after investigators received inputs about the conspiracy to extort money from the minister and abduct his son using a honey-trap, another STF officer said.
(With inputs from PTI)