Why did Darbhanga in Bihar earn the terror tag?

During the campaign in the Bihar assembly elections, there have been several allegations hurled and one among them was the nurturing of terrorists in the state. The reference was primarily at Darbhanga where the Indian Mujahideen ran one of its deadliest modules in the country.

With several of its modules in Pune and Uttar Pradesh being busted, the Indian Mujahideen found a safe heaven in Darbhanga from where it orchestrated a series of deadly blasts.

Today the Darbhanga module may have been neutralized, but the tag of terror still remains. Moreover, Intelligence Bureau officials say that this is still a volatile area and after the fall of Yasin Bhatkal, his aides have tried utilizing this module to make a come back.

Why did Darbhanga get the terror tag?

The module at Darbhanga was a mix of everything. Illegal immigrants, vote bank politics and communal tension. The Darbhanga module was set up by the Indian Mujahideen after its modules in Pune and Uttar Pradesh were largely neutralised.

Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, two of the most wanted terrorists in India currently hiding in Pakistan, were also expected to travel to Gulf. IM operative Abu Jundal was sent to Saudi Arabia to oversee the operations of the terror outfit from abroad while Yasin Bhatkal was made the chief of operations in Bihar.

Yasin roped in Mohammad Tariq Anjum Hassan, another terror operative, to help Mahmood. Mahmood, the founder of the Darbhanga module, was also in touch with Amir Reza Khan, an operative from West Bengal.

The Darbhanga module maintained a low-profile while the IM's modules in Pune and Azamgarh remained more active. But police soon cracked down on the modules in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, forcing the terror outfit to delegate more activities to its Bihar module.

Politics of appeasement:

Security agencies point out that the operatives come in and go out of Darbhanga with a lot of gusto. The IM was aware of the appeasement politics that goes on.

Darbhanga was on the IB radar since a very long time, but no concrete action was ever taken to tackle the problem. This led the IM to create more safe hideouts at Madhubani, Purnia and Kishenganj.

Of the 14 IM operatives arrested in the past four years, 13 were from Darbhanga.

14 Indian Mujahideen operatives have been arrested in the past four years of which 13 were from Darbhanga. This also includes Gulf-based operative, Fasih Mahmood.

While the arrests of the operatives have weakened the Darbhanga module to a large extent, it continues to be vulnerable warn IB officials. During each of the arrests that were carried out from Darbhanga, politicians have cried foul and this has led to resentment among many.

These are key issues that could see the resurgence of this module, if the local police are not careful, the officer also warned.