11 arrested in Assam, Tripura for links to Bangladesh fundamentalist groups

Eleven people have been arrested from Assam and Tripura for their alleged involvement with Bangladeshi fundamentalist groups seeking to destabilise the Northeast.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday (December 30), Guwahati Police Commissioner Parthasarathi Mahanta said that the arrests were made by the Special Task Force (STF) based on intelligence inputs from Central agencies.

"An operation was carried out last night in Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa and Darrang districts of Assam, besides Tripura. We have arrested a total of 11 jihadi elements, who were working under direct orders from Bangladesh-based groups," said Mahanta, adding that those arrested were members of the Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) module.

’10 from Assam, 1 from Tripura’

Elaborating further, Mahanta said that 10 of them were apprehended from Assam and one from Tripura. He also said that the accused sought to “establish 'Muslim supremacy' in this part of the country.”

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Mahanta said the police teams have made a lot of seizures, sans any arms and ammunition, during the simultaneous raids.

Those arrested from Assam were identified as Nasim Uddin alias Najimuddin alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22) and Md Dilbar Razak (26), he said.

Jagir Miah (33) was nabbed from Tripura, he added. "The Indian security and intelligence apparatus has been keeping a hawk eye on jihadi activities in the Northeast, particularly in Assam," Mahanta said.

What is IMK

He said the IMK is a Bangladesh-based offshoot of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is banned in India. As for its origin, Mahanta said that the IMK was founded in 2018 by ex-JMB member Jewel Mahmud, alias Imam Mahmud Habibulla,h alias Sohail, who claims to be the Aamir of IMK and propagates the ideology of 'Ghazwatul Hind'.

"It has been reliably learnt that following the regime change in Bangladesh in August 2024, senior leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) issued directions to IMK leadership to activate and expand its Indian modules," the police commissioner said.

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Mahanta said Bangladeshi nationals Umar and Khalid were assigned to coordinate with the Assam cell, the head of which was Tamim of Barpeta Road.

"The activities are coordinated through a secure social media platform. One such group is titled 'Purva Akash', which functions as a principal communication and recruitment platform. Persons based in Assam, West Bengal and Tripura were being radicalised, recruited, financially mobilised and connected with the outfit," he said.

‘IMK's activities threat to India's unity’

Mahanta claimed that among the people targeted were individuals possessing Indian passports who had visited Bangladesh, as well as known former members of proscribed groups.

"The cumulative effect of IMK's activities poses a grave threat to India's unity and integrity. The IMK maintains active cross-border linkages with its Bangladesh-based patrons. Following the ouster of the Hasina government in 2024, the Aamir of IMK was released from custody," he said.

After his release, recruitment and mobilisation activities of the outfit intensified with holding several meetings in parts of Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, he added.

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"The IMK projects itself as a Ghazwatul Hind-centric extremist module and propagates an ideology aligned with proscribed transnational jihadi organisations. It was found that following the change of government in Bangladesh, cadres of JMB, ABT and AQIS were released or emboldened," Mahanta said.

This has resulted in a revival of their ideological influence and Indian networks, including through IMK-linked platforms, which disseminate extremist propaganda advocating violent jihad and armed conquest of India, he added.

‘Used encrypted platform’

"Radical literature is systematically circulated to indoctrinate cadres and sympathisers through online platforms. In Assam, such extremist content was circulated within the encrypted platform titled 'Purba Akash'," Mahanta said.

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IMK also exploits social and religious gatherings, and several clandestine meetings have been held at local mosques since December 2024, advocating violent armed struggle in India to stop "atrocities on Muslims," he added.

He said that some IMK cadres have already visited Bangladesh with Indian passports to meet IMK leadership, and many are being encouraged to go to Bangladesh, even with their families, for arms training.

On IMK’s funding

Talking about their funding pattern, the police commissioner said IMK's operations are bankrolled through a combination of Hawala and small account transactions.

"Recruits and local supporters contribute cash donations. Funds collected are routinely transferred to Bangladesh via Hawala networks. Multiple bank accounts were used for funding," he added.

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Several Indian operatives also use UPI platforms to channel money, and lakhs of rupees have been systematically remitted from Assam and Tripura to Bangladesh to support extremist training and logistics, Mahanta said.

Additionally, extremist material relating to weapons and bomb-making circulated within Assam bears similarity to material earlier recovered from IMK-linked activities in Bangladesh, he added.

(With agency inputs)