Six Member NIA Team in Assam, Probing Hizbul Mujahideen Links in State

TERROR NETWORK

OUR BUREAU

GUWAHATI/NAGAON, Sept 19: In a well-coordinated effort to unearth the links of ISI-backed terrorist outfits in Assam and the Northeast, a six-member team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) is carrying out intensive interrogation of the already arrested seven youths for having links with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). The case related to HM is registered at Jamunamukh police station under Hojai district.

Talking to The Sentinel, Hojai SP Ankur Jain said: “Interrogation is on. The NIA team is carrying out the probe with respect to the accused.” The effort is on to primarily unearth details of their plans to expand base, carry out subversive plots especially sabotage and arms dealing, sources said.

The NIA sleuths arrived in Assam on Wednesday. They are carrying out their probes in close coordination with the State Police and the Anti Terror Squad (ATS) team that had arrived earlier from Kanpur.

The police have so far arrested seven persons on charges of maintaining close links with Hizbul Mujahideen. The arrested persons are Sehnewaj Alom (39), Saidul Alom, Umar Farukh (35), Riyaj Uddin (50), Md. Jainal Ahmed (55), Md. Baharul Islam (23) and Saiful Islam.

Sources said that while Riyaj Uddin was in touch with Hizbul Mujahideen to strike an arms supply deal, the police have gathered enough evidences of terror links against Saiful Islam, the brother of Qamar-uz-Zaman who was arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police last week.

The investigations carry wide ramifications even as the Assam Police has launched a massive manhunt in search for a Kashmiri youth who had come to Assam to set up the base of HM in the State. Sources told The Sentinel that the youth from Jammu and Kashmir, indoctrinated with the ideology of Hizbul Mujahideen, reportedly came to Assam a few months ago with an aim to motivate youths to join the terrorist outfit so as to set up a base of the outfit in the State. The Kashmiri youth was the brain behind the plan to make Assam a fertile ground for thriving Hizbul’s ideology of terror among youths here.