6 arrested from Bengal, 3 from Kerala in early morning raids

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday conducted simultaneous raids at several locations at Ernakulam (Kerala) and Murshidabad (West Bengal) and arrested nine terrorists associated with Pakistan-sponsored module of the UN-banned global terror outfit al-Qaeda.

“The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the NIA said.

The search operation followed registration of a case (No. RC-31/2020/NIA/DLI) by NIA on September 11 and subsequent investigation into the matter. This led the NIA to learn about an inter-State module of al-Qaeda operatives at various locations in India, including West Bengal and Kerala.

“The NIA has arrested six terrorists from West Bengal and three terrorists from Kerala in the early morning raids. Large quantity of incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jehadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession,” the agency said.

As per preliminary investigation, the arrested accused were radicalised by Pakistan-based al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places, including the National Capital Region. For this purpose, the module was actively indulging in fund raising and a few members of the gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition. These arrests have pre-empted possible terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, it said.

The arrested accused are Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas and Mosaraf Hossen, all residents of Ernakulam, Kerala. Those arrested from Murshidabad are Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman.

Murshid Hasan is the leader of the gang and those arrested from Kerala are also originally residents of West Bengal, NIA officials said.

Fire crackers were being attempted to be converted into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and the NIA recovered switches and batteries from Abu Sufiyan’s house during the searches, they said.

The group was also planning to go to Kashmir for weapons delivery to their cohorts to hit vital installations there. The arrested accused will be produced before the relevant courts in Kerala and West Bengal by the NIA that will seek police remand to subject them to custodial interrogation to unravel the larger network and the deep-seated conspiracy for custody and further investigation, they further said.

The initial findings suggest the arrested ultras are highly radicalised and were getting instructions from foreign handlers, including Pakistan-based al-Qaeda operatives, in cyberspace. Besides targeting vital installations in India, the module was also tasked to carry out targeted killings. For the planned mass killings, the group was in the advanced stage of procuring arms, including automatic rifles and pistols besides ammunition and explosives.

The module was trying to establish a well organised network with separate verticals for different tasks in various parts of the country, including the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir, on the instructions of the Pakistan-based handlers, the official said, adding some of its members were trying to develop expertise in IED-making.