Operation Praghat: Assam Police Special Task Force Busts Jihadi Network, Arrests 8

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In a big blow to Jihadi elements in Assam and the country, the Assam Police Special Task Force (STF), headed by its chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta, with the active assistance of the Kerala and West Bengal Police, launched Operation Praghat, a major nationwide operation based on intelligence, against a known fundamentalist or Jihadi Global Terrorist Organisation (GTO). The team apprehended and arrested 8 fundamentalists, including one Bangladeshi national from Kerala, thus unearthing the sleeper cell of a terror module that was preparing to strike, said Assam Police Special DGP Harmeet Singh.

Singh stated that Operation Praghat was launched after a detailed examination of intelligence inputs regarding the clandestine anti-national activities being carried out by a group of individuals under the direction of one Md. Farhan Israk, a close associate of Jasimuddin Rahmani, the chief of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), labelled a Global Terrorist Organisation. A Bangladeshi national, Md. Sad Radi @ Md. Shab Seikh (32), a resident of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, was sent to India in the month of November 2024 to spread their nefarious ideology and create sleeper cells amongst like-minded individuals across India, so as to initiate violent and subversive actions. Md. Sad Radi visited Assam and West Bengal to meet sleeper-cell activists of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) before he moved to Kerala for the same purpose.

Singh said, “The terror module was ready to set up sleeper cells across the country, starting with Assam and West Bengal. Covert operational capabilities were being developed so that they can carry out covert activities and indulge in subversion and violence. Destruction of life and property would have resulted from such activities, and harm would have come to the people. Sad Radi was trying to acquire arms and ammunition. Assam STF, with the help of Kerala and West Bengal police, did a wonderful job in stopping the network from carrying out their subversive designs.”

“Based on the imminent threat to the nation, STF Assam lodged an FIR vide STF, PS Case no 21/2024 U/S 61(2)/147/148/149 R/W Section 10/13/16/18/18B/20 UA(P) Act 1967 and R/W Section 12 (1)(a) of the Passport Act 1967 and launched the operation under the direct supervision of STF Chief, Partha Sarathi Mahanta. Teams were dispatched to various parts of the country to identify the Jihadi elements and to apprehend them. During the intervening night of 17-18 December 2024, the teams simultaneously conducted search & seizure operations at the specified & identified locations in Kerala, West Bengal, and Assam,” he further said.

Singh also said, “The eight national Jihadis were apprehended and arrested along with a huge amount of incriminating documents and articles with distorted versions of religion and religious books with distorted views like Jihad. Those arrested include Md. Sad Radi @ Shab Seikh (36), a Bangladeshi national, who was arrested in Kerala; Minarul Sheikh (40), of village Magura in district Murshidabad, who was arrested in West Bengal; Md. Abbas Ali (33), of village Harihar Para in Murshidabad district, who was arrested in West Bengal; Nur Islam Mandal (40), Hamidul Islam (34), and Abdul Karim Mandal (30) of village Joypur Namapara in Kokrajhar district, who were arrested in Assam along with Mojibar Rahman (46). Another arrested in Assam was Enamul Hoque (29) of village Hatipota part-II, in Dhubri district.”

“The incriminating documents, including one Bangladesh National Card and certificates and mobile phones with various suspicious apps, were used for communicating with their handlers in Bangladesh and Pakistan over the last couple of months. We also recovered and seized many incriminating texts with distorted religious beliefs relating to Jihad, religious books with distorted narratives, printed and published in Bangladesh, along with four pen drives with incriminating evidence.

Meanwhile, STF chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta said, “The Jihadis lived like normal people, working as workers, etc. The sleeper cell was like a dormant volcano and could have burst at any time. Radi had spread roots in Assam and West Bengal before moving to Kerala.”

Singh praised the efforts of the STF chief, Partha Sarathi Mahanta, and his team in stopping a potential threat not only to Assam and West Bengal but to the entire country.

Another four persons, who were also picked up by the STF team in Kokrajhar during the inquiry, were released after preliminary investigation.

Also Read: Assam STF Arrests Eight Individuals with Alleged Jihadi Links In Dhubri, Kokrajhar

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