NIA nabs 13 in JMB offshoot case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 13 people on 29 September 2026 after searches at 16 locations in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala, in connection with a terror conspiracy attributed to an offshoot of the proscribed Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Authorities arrested eight people in Assam, four in West Bengal and one in Kerala.
During the searches, investigators seized mobile phones, pen drives and memory cards from the accused. The agency has said the operation forms part of a continuing probe into efforts to expand the banned organisation’s ideology and network on Indian soil.
The operation began with action by Assam Police in late 2025. On 28 December, police arrested 11 people from Assam, West Bengal, and Tripura. Two days later, the Special Task Force police station registered Case No. 06/2025 against 35 people. The main allegation was that an online radicalisation module was being run through a Telegram group called “Purva Akash,” managed by Bangladesh-based handlers of Imam Mahmuder Kafila, or IMK. The 11 people arrested in December were formally charged on 25 June 2026 and are still in judicial custody.
The NIA took over the investigation, registered a case vide RC-01/2026/NIA/GUW, and filed a chargesheet against the 11 accused in the NIA Special Court in Guwahati under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The agency says further investigation found that the accused were actively involved in a conspiracy linked to IMK, which it describes as a branch of JMB. The goal was to spread the group’s ideology in West Bengal and the north-eastern states. Investigators believe the conspiracy included promoting the organisation’s extremist agenda, radicalising vulnerable youth, and expanding its network in India. The NIA also said that JMB’s senior member Imam Mahmud Habibullah set up IMK to promote the banned group’s agenda in India.
The September arrests are seen as a continuation of the earlier investigation. The agency says the 13 people recently arrested had worked together to increase the presence of IMK and JMB through secret meetings, religious indoctrination programs, sharing extremist literature, and using digital platforms for propaganda against India. They are also accused of encouraging loyalty to IMK and JMB leaders. Police will check devices found in Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala for contacts with handlers, meeting records, and material related to the earlier Telegram group that first caught police attention.
Ten people accused in the case are still missing. One is an Indian national, and nine are from Bangladesh. The NIA says the investigation in RC-01/2026/NIA/GUW is ongoing. The agency has not named the 13 people arrested on 29 September or given details about their specific roles, apart from their alleged link to the larger conspiracy.
The case began in December 2025 as a state-level investigation into an online channel. By mid-2026, authorities filed a chargesheet, and nine months later, it became a multi-state NIA operation.
Authorities are focusing on a banned Bangladeshi group and an India-based offshoot reportedly started by one of its senior members. Authorities are still seeking both Indian and Bangladeshi nationals. The most recent arrests include people from Kerala, the Northeast, and West Bengal.
