NIA raids multiple locations in Bengal over terror links

Kolkata, Nov 11 (IANS) National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted multiple raids in different locations of West Bengal in connection with the suspected sleeper cells of terror models on Monday.

Sources said that among the places that had been raided by the NIA officials include a particular house at Cantopher Lane in central Kolkata.

Besides the house at Kolkata, raids have been conducted at Haldibari in Jalpaiguri district in the northern sector of West Bengal.

They said that the raid and search operations that are being conducted on Monday are in connection with an alert from the central intelligence agencies on Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) targeting some unrecognised educational institutions in the state with the dual motive of selecting new recruits as well as opening new terror modules.

The central intelligence agencies have issued similar alerts to their counterparts in different northeastern states in the country, especially those having borders with neighbouring Bangladesh.

Sources said that as per the alert from the central agencies JMB activists will first target the teachers of unrecognised educational institutions and convince them to encourage their students to join the terror modules in the respective states.

In the second phase, the process of young students for the terror modules will start. In the third phase, the selected candidates will be taken to different terrorist training camps for training on the use of arms and explosives.

In the fourth and final phase, as per the alert of the central agencies, after the training process is completed, the new recruits will be sent back to their respective states to be part of the different terror modules in the different districts there.

JMB claimed responsibility for the 2014 blast at Khagragarh in the East Burdwan district of West Bengal and the 2018 Bodh Gaya bombing attacks. Several members of the group were convicted in these two cases.

--IANS

src/dan