close_game
close_game

Burdwan blast: NIA arrests Myanmar national

Hindustan Times | By, Kolkata
Nov 19, 2014 01:08 AM IST

In a significant breakthrough, National Investigation Agency sleuths on Tuesday arrested a Myanmar national living in Hyderabad on the basis of fake identity documents in connection with the Burdwan blast.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Myanmar national allegedly trained by a Pakistani terror group in connection with last month’s Burdwan blast, pointing to an extensive terror network in South Asia, officials said on Tuesday.

Policemen-stand-outside-a-house-in-Khagragarh-Burdwan-where-an-explosion-left-two-suspected-militants-dead-Ashok-Nath-Dey-HT-Photo
Policemen-stand-outside-a-house-in-Khagragarh-Burdwan-where-an-explosion-left-two-suspected-militants-dead-Ashok-Nath-Dey-HT-Photo

Khalid Mohammad, 28, who was held in Hyderabad, was carrying ISIS jihadist literature and was apparently running terror camps along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, sources said.

“This arrest points at a network which is breeding in West Bengal where jihadis working against Bangladesh and Myanmar government are collaborating,” said an NIA official. “Khalid is a vital link between terror organisations in Bangladesh and Myanmar working from the soil of Bengal and even other parts of the country.”

The October 2 explosion in West Bengal’s Burdwan district, in which two operatives of the militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were killed while making bombs in a house, exposed a widespread web of terror in the state.

The NIA is now likely to investigate whether the explosives being assembled in Burdwan were to be moved to Myanmar where Rohingya Muslims are locked in a bitter fight with parts of the Buddhist-majority population.

Clashes and riots have forced numerous Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh and from there many have migrated to West Bengal over the past two years, sources said.

Over a hundred such illegal immigrants were arrested by the BSF at the Bengal-Bangladesh border in 2013. Many others were picked up by state police.

An NIA team is in Bangladesh regarding investigations into the Burdwan blast as the case is believed to have wider security ramifications for the two countries.

Khalid is apparently an expert in manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) as well as recruitment and was helping the JMB organise terror modules in India, sources said.

“He has admitted to having undergone training conducted by Tehreek-e-Azadi-Arakan with trainers from Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan,” an NIA official said.

He was residing in Hyderabad after faking his identity and was found to be without valid travel documents.

Khalid will be produced in court and is likely to be moved to Kolkata, sources said. He is the ninth person to be arrested in connection with the Burdwan blast.

Get Current Updates on India News, Weather Today, Latest News, Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Exit Poll 2025 Live at Hindustan Times.
See More
Get Current Updates on India News, Weather Today, Latest News, Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Exit Poll 2025 Live at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, February 06, 2025
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On