Burdwan blast: Terror-mongers pose as couples to avoid detection

Following the blast, in which an alleged Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh member was killed and another wounded, the CID conducted raids on several houses in Burdwan district and found at least three couples staying as tenants.

The West Bengal CID’s investigation into the October 2 Burdwan blast has revealed that members of terror groups were operating as couples that helped them avoid suspicion.

Following the blast, in which an alleged Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh member was killed and another wounded, the CID conducted raids on several houses in Burdwan district and found at least three couples staying as tenants. The fact that two couples had children allowed them to carry assembling bombs and planning attacks undetected.

“Ties are usually strong between married couples. So it works well within the family. At least that is what we found in Burdwan,” a CID official said.

In the course of their raids, police found two couples — Shakil Ahmed-Rajira Bibi and Abdul Hakim-Amina Bibi — who were allegedly involved in the October 2 blast. Both couples were seen with children and kept to themselves, a strategy that helped them escape suspicion, say CID sources.

Police have not been able to identify another two couples who stayed in a third house they raided. Even neighbours could not recall what they looked like.

Fourth hideout found

The police on Friday reportedly found the fourth house used as a hideout by terror suspects. Located in Hatudewan, the landlord claimed that two couples had taken the house on rent and then disappeared just after the blast. Their phone has remained out of reach. Hatudewan Pirtala is just about a km away from Burdwan police station.

A local, who did not want to be named, said that the couples had kept to themselves and did not mix with locals. “The males went out in the morning with big bags, and would return in the evening, often with the bags loaded,” said a local resident.

On Saturday, a team of NIA officials reached Burdwan. They went to the Burdwan police station and then went on to Khagragore and visited the house at Hetudewan.

Later they met the SP Burdwan in his office.