Northeast on High Alert After Terror Outfit Plans Attacks on Siliguri Corridor

Guwahati: The Siliguri corridor, which links the Northeastern states to the rest of the nation, had been the target of a sleeper cell of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), according to the West Bengal police.

Because of the Siliguri corridor's strategic significance, authorities in Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura, among other northeastern states, are on high alert.

The Assam Police's Special Task Force (STF) captured eight members of the terror group from West Bengal, Kerala, and Assam, revealing a transnational network of the outlawed organisation.

In Bangladesh, the US, the UK, and India, ABT, a splinter group of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, has been declared illegal.

A joint operation by the Assam and West Bengal Police Special Task Forces (STF) resulted in the arrest of two individuals from the Murshidabad area of West Bengal on December 18.

Inspector General (IG) of West Bengal STF Gaurav Sharma told reporters that the sleeper cell's goal was to recruit young people in the area by taking advantage of economic and sectarian weaknesses. Saad Radi, an agent from Bangladesh, was allegedly sent to India by the claimed mastermind, Farhan Ishrat, to lead recruitment efforts. Before being captured following concerted operations, Radi is thought to have travelled through West Bengal, Kerala, and Assam.

The objective was clear: to activate the Siliguri corridor as a base for terror activities,” said Supratim Sarkar, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), South Bengal.

Minarul Sheikh (48) and Md Abbas Ali (29), two of the suspects, were taken into custody from Hariharpara in Murshidabad. Ali has a criminal record that includes accusations of sexual assault and kidnapping under the POCSO Act, whereas Sheikh works as a pump technician. Assam STF is currently investigating the evidence, which includes many cell phones, documents, and a 16GB thumb drive.

Finding the group's action plan and possible connections to actions in West Bengal and Assam are of special interest to the STF.

Following allegations of intercommunal violence in Bangladesh and the arrest of those connected to extremist activity, tensions in the area have increased as a result of the arrests.

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