Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF), with the assistance of Kerala and West Bengal Police, has arrested eight individuals, including a Bangladeshi national, dismantling a terror module with plans to carry out subversive activities across India.
The operation, named 'Operation Praghat', led to the arrests during the night of December 17-18, with five individuals apprehended in Assam, two in West Bengal, and one in Kerala.
The arrests came after a prolonged investigation into intelligence regarding anti-national activities orchestrated by Md. Farhan Israk, an associate of Jasimuddin Rahmani, the leader of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a Bangladesh-based affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
The main suspect, Md. Sad Radi alias Md. Shab Seikh, a Bangladeshi national, had arrived in India in November with the aim of spreading extremist ideologies and establishing sleeper cells for future subversive actions. Before heading to Kerala, Radi had visited Assam and West Bengal to recruit individuals for the terror group.
Speaking at a press conference, Special Director General of Police (SDGP) Harmeet Singh explained that the STF, led by Chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta, had launched the operation after receiving detailed intelligence reports on the group's anti-national activities.
“In a major intelligence-led inter-state operation, undertaken with the active assistance of the Kerala and West Bengal Police against a known global terrorist organisation, the Assam Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested eight fundamentalists, thus unearthing a terror module which was preparing to strike,” Singh said.
The operation uncovered disturbing materials, including mobile phones with messages from Pakistan and Bangladesh-based handlers, as well as religious texts with distorted narratives and four pen drives.
The arrested individuals were also found to be involved in procuring arms and ammunition to facilitate their plans to wage war against the Government of India.
Singh revealed that the arrested individuals were actively working to recruit youths, particularly in Assam and West Bengal, to join terrorist organisations such as ABT and AQIS.
“Several meetings were organised in Murshidabad and Falakata, where participants deliberated extensively on targeting members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Hindu organisations. During these meetings, they devised plans to assassinate prominent religious and Hindu leaders,”
Singh said, adding that these activities were part of a broader strategy to incite religious unrest and destabilise the region.
The investigation into the network is ongoing, with authorities working to uncover additional connections within the terror nexus.
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