4 more terror suspects with alleged links to Al Qaida arrested in Assam
Assam chief minister Himant Biswa Sarma said the arrest of Sadek Ali is a significant achievement since he has been radicalising youngsters for past 2 years
The Assam police on Monday arrested four persons with alleged links to Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a Bangladesh-based terror outfit affiliated to Al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter to announce the arrests of Sadek Ali and Jakibul Ali in Tamulpur district and Habel Ali and Abu Raihan in Nalbari district.
“We are determined to root out jihadi elements from Assam,” Sarma said mentioning that both Sadek and Jakibul had lured youngsters to join ABT.
“Arrest of Sadek Ali is a significant achievement since he has been radicalising youth including Jakibul Ali for past 2 years. He was also associated with JMB (Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) and neo-JMB,” Sarma tweeted.
Since April, the state police have arrested around 40 persons including a Bangladeshi national for their alleged links to ABT on charges of indoctrinating youngsters about jihad and creating sleeper cells of the Bangladeshi outfit.
Last month, chief minister Sarma informed the assembly that 84 persons have been arrested in the state since May 2016 (when the first Bharatiya Janata Party-led government formed) for alleged jihadi activities.
Of those arrested, 35 were from Jamat Ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), 9 from Hijbul Mujahideen (HM) and 40 others from Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT)—all three terror groups based in Bangladesh.
The government informed the assembly that of those arrested 10, including a Bangladeshi national Saiful Islam alias Mohammed Suman, were connected to madrasas in some way or other.
“These people used to deliver speeches in madrasas and mosques with jihadi links and in religious gatherings where they incited people to take part in jihad and distribute jihadi literature. Till date no one has been injured or killed in Assam due to jihadi activities,” Sarma informed while replying to a question.
