Bengal STF arrests suspected associate of JeM operative

The West Bengal Special Task Force on Monday arrested another suspected associate of alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Hamim Mondal in connection with a probe into an alleged espionage network, a senior officer said.

The accused, identified as Aditya Singh alias Raj alias Raju, was arrested from Belilious Road in neighbouring Howrah based on leads obtained during the interrogation of Mondal and his alleged associate Arpita Sarkar, he said.

"So far we have arrested three persons in this connection," the senior STF officer said, adding that investigators were working to identify others allegedly linked to the network.

The STF suspects Singh came in contact with Mondal through an online gaming platform and was subsequently drawn into the alleged conspiracy.

According to the officer, Mondal allegedly "brainwashed" Singh and assigned him to monitor Minister of State for Urban Development Umesh Rai and his son.

Singh is suspected of collecting information about their movements, photographing them and sharing the details with Mondal, the officer said.

"We are investigating whether they were planning to target the minister," he said.

The STF is also probing whether the alleged network was planning a terror attack ahead of Independence Day celebrations, the officer said.

"The investigation is at a crucial stage. We are trying to ascertain the role played by each individual and identify the entire chain of communication," he said.

The officer said information gathered during the interrogation of the accused would help investigators understand the alleged network and its activities.

"Our priority is to unearth all possible links. We are examining every piece of evidence collected during the investigation," he said.

Mondal was arrested last week for his alleged links to the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Sajjad Bhat network. Investigators are probing the alleged network and the role of those suspected to be associated with it.