Six suspected JMB activists arrested in India's West Bengal, Assam

Six suspected operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have been arrested in the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam.

Police said they include four wanted in connection with the 2014 Burdwan blasts in West Bengal.

"Special Task Force of Kolkata police have arrested six Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Visal Garg told the media in West Bengal capital, reports IANS.

All of them are actively involved with JMB, said the police official.

A senior police officer said that the arrested JMB activists were running sleeper cells across the eastern and north-eastern states and were plotting an attack in the region.

The arrests are significant as among the six arrested terrorists, one is Anwar Hussain Faruq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state.

Sheikh is also the JMB's chief coordinator in the state. The NIA had announced reward on his head.

The four others--Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jahidul Islam -- were wanted in connection with the Burdwan blast of Oct 2, 2014.

Kalam and Rubel both carried rewards on their heads.

According to the police, Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from North 24 Parganas district's Bashirhat on Sunday while Faruq and Rubel were picked up from Bangao in the same district.

On the other hand, Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal on Sunday while Jahidul was arrested a day earlier from Assam's Cachar district on Saturday.

Police have seized explosives, detonators, forged IDs, laptop, mobile phones and Bangladeshi as well as Indian currency from them.