NIA arrests Bangladeshi in connection with Burdwan blast

New Delhi, Sept 30: A Bangladeshi national, alleged to be a member of banned Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror group and suspectedly involved in Burdhwan blast of last year, was arrested by NIA and Jharkhand Police on Tuesday.

The accused identified as Tarikul Islam alias Sadiq was arrested from Ramgarh district of Jharkhand by a team of NIA and Anti-Terror Squad of Jharkhand police, official sources said.

He carried a cash reward of Rs five lakh. Islam is alleged to be an important member of 'Shoora', the decision-making body of JMB.

NIA has already chargesheeted him for his alleged role in the Burdhwan blast which occurred in a house on October 2 last year, leaving two persons dead.

During investigation of the case, NIA claimed that Islam was a part of larger conspiracy of JMB to organise terror attacks in Bangladesh and in India and had been frequently entering India illegally, at different times since the year 2008-2009.

He is also alleged to have obtained false identity documents on assumed Indian identities, by submitting forged documents.

NIA also alleged that the probe showed that Islam along with other accused was an active member of JMB who attended terrorist training camp organized by senior members of the terror group.

The NIA took over the case from West Bengal police a few days after the explosion, when international links started surfacing.

Investigators have found that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were being fabricated in the house and later smuggled to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The NIA has so far found that members of the JMB terror group has established a network in different places like Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Birbhum, Burdwan in West Bengal and Barpetta in Assam, Sahibganj and Pakur in Jharkhand.

In its chargesheet filed in March this year, NIA alleged to have busted an international conspiracy of JMB terror group which wanted to establish Sharia rule in Bangladesh by overthrowing the democratically-elected government of Sheikh Hasina.

NIA had alleged that the accused were involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the existing democratic government in Bangladesh "through violent terrorist acts and replace it with a hard-line Sharia based Islamic rule, which came to light after the accidental blast."

PTI