Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Thursday stated that the bust of at least five modules of a Bangladesh-based fundamentalist group suggests that the state was becoming a hotbed for Islamic fundamentalist groups.
"Since March this year, Assam police have busted at least five modules of Ansarul Bangladesh Team (ABT), which is a banned terror group in Bangladesh. ABT is an affiliate group of Al Qaeda in Indian Sub-contient (AQIS), which is trying to spread jihad across India and in Assam. We have already arrested several persons from Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Morigaon and in Hatigaon area in Guwahati. We have also arrested a Bangladesh national, Md Suman, who is a key accused. There may be many more similar modules operating across the state. This suggests that Assam is becoming a hotbed for Islamic fundamentalist terror groups," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati.
Sarma said that police have identified another five Bangladeshi nationals who had illegally entered Assam and are still at large. "These Bangladeshi nationals are engaged in the indoctrination of the local youths and children. They use some Madrassas and Mosques as a shelter. We have already arrested a Madrassa teacher in Morigaon and we have sealed the Madrassa. We are also keeping watch on the private Madrassas as many of them may become a platform for these Jihadi elements," Sarma said.
Sarma said Suman, a resident of Bangladesh's Narayanganj, had illegally entered Assam through the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal in 2018 and settled in Barpeta. He joined a private Islamic academy as an Arabic teacher and also as an imam in a mosque in Howly in Barpeta. "Police have recovered incriminating Islamic jihadi literature, which is being used for indoctrination for Jihad," he said.
Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Morigaon districts have a sizeable Muslim population.
Bomb training during Covid-19
Sarma said that while authorities remained busy in containing Covid-19, ABT modules carried out a lot of activities in the Barpeta district, including bomb training. The CM added that arrests were made with the help of central intelligence agencies, based on strong evidence.
Administration in central Assam's Morigaon district Thursday used bulldozers to evict a Madrassa, which was sealed on July 27 following the arrest of a teacher, identified as Mufti Mustafa. "Mustafa had gained a doctorate degree in Islamic law from Bhopal. Before that, he had studied in Maharashtra and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. He came back and opened a Madrassa, where 43 students are enrolled," he said.
Investigation has revealed that they used sophisticated communication systems for peer-to-peer communication. "They install the mobile apps and then uninstall them soon after the communication. It becomes very difficult for intelligence agencies to detect such communication systems. They never use mobile phones to make calls," Assam CM claimed.
Sarma said that private madrassas are under the scanner but the operation is not targeted at the Muslim community in Assam. "In fact, the arrests have been made based on information provided by peace-loving Muslim people. We want to appeal to all Muslims in Assam to be vigilant against such jihadi elements and help us to nab them. The situation on the ground in Assam is worrisome."