Twelve 'jihadis' of Bangladeshi terror group nabbed in Assam

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• Jul 28, 2022 | Poonam Nath

Seven additional suspect linkmen were also apprehended in the Morigaon district, marking a significant victory for Assam

Digital Desk: Twelve alleged Jihadis with connections to the terrorist organisation Ansarul Islam based in Bangladesh were detained in the Assamese districts of Barpeta and Morigaon, police said on Thursday.

In the Morigaon district, seven additional people who are thought to be linkmen for the same group were also captured.

Two significant terror cells were dismantled in the state in a "nationally coordinated operation," according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

According to PTI reports, which cited the police, an alleged jihadi with ties to the terror outfit was also detained earlier from the same district where he oversaw a madrasa.

The man, identified as Mustafa, who was previously detained from a madrasa, engaged in several financial transactions with Amiruddin Ansari and Mamun Rashid in 2019, two linked Ansarul Islam militants to Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, according to Morigaon superintendent of police Aparna Natarajan.

Investigations revealed that he had provided shelter to a foreign country's "wanted person" in the madrasa, and a case has been filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, revealed to reporters in Guwahati that the madrasa is now closed and is a private institution. In Assam, all government madrasas are closed.

Ansarul Islam militants have reportedly been active in the state, and authorities are working to apprehend them.

The Ansarul Bangla Team was the previous name for Ansarul Islam.

Five alleged group members were the first people detained in Barpeta in March of this year, and since then, close to 20 other people have been taken into custody. 

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, the acting director general of police, had previously claimed that Ansarul Islam was responsible for the murder of writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and other people who did not subscribe to extreme fundamentalism or had independent thought.