In two separate developments, the police on Tuesday arrested four suspected persons, all with Bangladesh links from various parts of South Kolkata. While one of them is a Bangladeshi national, two others have French passports despite being born-Bangladeshis. The fourth person is an Indian and have been detained for helping the others.
In the first case, the police arrested a Bangladeshi national from near Army Command Hospital at Alipore in South Kolkata when he was trying to film the Defence facility on his mobile camera, sources said.
When the police challenged the man, he could not provide satisfactory explanation for his act, police said adding he had confessed to having snapped still and video photographs of the area on earlier occasions also. “He is being questioned for further investigation,” officials said.
In the second incident, three persons holding French passports were arrested when they went at the security control office to extend their visa for three additional months. While two of them are Bangladesh-born persons with French passport, the third person was an Indian, police said.
They were detained for interrogation after the police found that they not only had some fake documents on them but also they had stayed on in India though their visa validity had ended a few months ago. They have been handed over to the Bhawanipore police station, sources said.
They were residing in Rabindranagar area. Their landlord had also been arrested apparently for keeping the matter a secret, police said adding investigations were on to ascertain the reason behind their illegally staying in India.
Meanwhile, the police were in the lookout for four Bangladeshi persons, who were tipped to carry out suicide bomb attacks at various locations in Kolkata and other places, sources said, adding it was being ascertained whether the persons arrested on Tuesday were linked to the persons, the police were searching for.
According to an Intelligence Bureau information, the four could be staying somewhere in Barasat in North 24 Parganas in the northern fringes of Kolkata and also in Malda which about 350 km north of the State Capital.
The police conducted raids in several places in Barasat but none could be arrested. While two of the persons in hiding are named as Anisur Rehman and Mohammed Ansari the names of the other persons were yet to be ascertained. Rehman and Ansari had allegedly rented a house at Ghojadanga in North 24 Parganas.
The persons were reportedly members of Bangladeshi terror organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is planning to strike in 24 different places in the country, including Bengal.
The police have already sounded high alert in sensitive locations like Dakshineshwar and Kalighat Temples, Victoria Memorial, Howrah and Sealdah Stations, Jubilee and Howrah Bridge, Metro Stations.