Bangladesh-linked terror module busted in Assam
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Assam Police have busted a major terror module linked to a Bangladesh-based extremist organisation, arresting 11 individuals in a coordinated operation.
Security agencies have been on high alert across the Northeast amid growing concerns over extremist activities in the region.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Nasim Uddin alias Najimuddin alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22), Md Dilbar Razak (26), and Jagir Miah (33).
According to officials, the arrests followed intelligence inputs regarding the activities of the Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), a Bangladesh-based extremist group identified as an offshoot of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The IMK was founded in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud, also known as Imam Mahmud Habibullah or Sohail, a former JMB member who claims to be the group’s “Amir”. The organisation reportedly promotes the ideology of “Ghazwatul Hind”.
Security agencies said that following political developments in Bangladesh in August 2024, senior leaders of extremist groups, including JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), allegedly instructed IMK leadership to reactivate and expand operations in India. Two Bangladeshi nationals, identified as Umar and Khalid, were reportedly tasked with coordinating activities in Assam.
Investigations revealed that recruitment and coordination were carried out through encrypted and secure social media platforms. A group titled “Purva Akash” allegedly served as a key communication and recruitment channel. Individuals from Assam, West Bengal, and Tripura were targeted for radicalisation, recruitment, and financial mobilisation, including those holding Indian passports, those with past travel links to Bangladesh, and former members of banned organisations.
Authorities said the IMK promotes extremist propaganda through websites, digital banners, and literature, including publications such as Sarbobhoumo Khamatar Malik Allah and Ghazwatul Hind er Sonkhipto Alochona, aimed at ideological indoctrination.
Officials also noted that the group sought to exploit the post-regime change situation in Bangladesh, which they claim emboldened extremist elements and revived dormant networks operating across borders.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. Authorities said investigations are ongoing to identify and dismantle remaining sleeper cells linked to the module.