Entered India paying Rs 4k, got funding from Kolkata to set up MP module: JMB terrorists

New Delhi, Mar 17: Earlier this week, the Madhya Pradesh ATS arrested four terrorists of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (Bangladesh) They were arrested in connection with the Bodhgaya blasts.

The arrested were identified as Fazhar Ali alias Mehmood (32), Mohammad Aqeel alias Ahmed (24), Zahooruddin alias Ibrahim (28) and Fazhar Zainul Abdeen alias Akram Al Hasan (25).

During the probe, the ATS learnt that three out of the four JMB operatives had paid middlemen Rs 4,000 to enter India. After entering India, they stayed at West Bengal and then moved to Assam and Uttar Pradesh before entering Madhya Pradesh.

Another angle that came to light was that they were receiving funds from Kolkata. While it is not clear where exactly in Kolkata the funds were coming from, an official tells OneIndia that they would probe this matter.

The police said that these persons were arrested from a building located near the Fatima Mosque in Bhopal. "These terrorists were living as tenants in Bhopal and they were making a team of a remote-based sleeper cell to execute their terrorist activities. On the basis of inputs, a search operation was carried out and four Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested," the police said.

In recent times there have been several arrests of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who have entered the country through West Bengal.

Back in 2012, the Intelligence Bureau had reported that the issue was catching up like wildfire in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Telangana (then AP) and Karnataka. The report stated that there are all sorts of people. Many are here in search of a livelihood, but then there are many who indulge in illegal activities such as smuggling as drugs and sometimes arms.

They come into the country through West Bengal and gradually move into other parts of the country.

While touts and middlemen help them with documents, there are others who take advantage of their poor living conditions and lure them with money in order to carry out illegal activities.