India's NIA wants JMB's Faruq in their custody

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) wants the JMB terrorists arrested by Kolkata Police's Special Task Force in their custody, says the 'Times of India'.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Oct 2016, 09:12 AM
Updated : 13 Oct 2016, 09:14 AM

A TOI report said the NIA made the demand after the JMB's India operations chief  Anwar Hossain Faruq, made a startling revelation about a believed-to-be defunct Bangladesh-based outfit training new recruits of different terror organisations in South Asia.

Bangladesh's home ministry has said before that this group, Shahadat-e-al-Hikma was initially funded by Indian mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to be in Pakistan and enjoys support of its military intelligence, the ISI.

The TOI report quoted NIA officials as saying that most Islamist terrorists in India and Bangladesh were indoctrinated and trained by Shahadat-e-al-Hikma.

"Interestingly, it doesn't even exist in the sub-continent's terror map."

Also read

The findings of NIA during Khagragarh probe hinted the organisation is functional, but the investigation agency couldn't elaborate on the activities of the organisation till the arrest of these six terrorists.

The NIA is investigating the accidental explosions at Khagragarh in West Bengal's Burdwan district two years ago.

Investigations revealed that a substantial network of the JMB terror group in Indian states like West Bengal and Assam.

Faruq is not even mentioned in the Khagragarh chargesheet and the NIA is now depending on the Kolkata police charge sheet after the recent arrests to keep him in custody.

During interrogation, Faruq and his confidante Yousuf have told interrogators that Shahadat-e-al-Hikma not only gave arms training to new recruits, but provided them with funds and logistical support.

Faruq, who planned Trishal snatch raid in Bangladesh in 2014 to free three JMB terrorists -- Jahidul Islam alias Boma Mizan, Salauddin Salehin alias Sunny and Hafez Mahmud alias Raqib Hasan --  came to Birbhum's Nanoor through Murshidabad border with the support of this organisation where he started living as Enam.

Mizan and Salehin were given safe passage by Leku, a recruit of Shahadat-e-al-Hikma, says the TOI report.

It says that Faruq has reportedly admitted he was trained in Chittagong by this organisation.

According to the Bangladesh home ministry, Shahadat-e-al-Hikma was established on February 2003 at Rajshahi by Kaosar Hossain Siddiquee. Initially, it was funded by Dawood Ibrahim.

A few months later, Bangladesh banned it and Siddiquee was arrested in 2005.

The group was allegedly reactivated by Zakir Khandakar in July 2014, a few months before the Khargagarh explosions.

Khandakar shifted its headquarters to Bandarbon in Chittagong and Shahadat-e-al-Hikma became a back-room support system for other terror organisations.

Faruq told investigators he was present at two meetings of the outfit, says the 'Times of India' report.

"The organisation provides one-month crash course to new recruits. The camps are in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar," an investigator said.