Terror legacy: Indian Mujahideen's dead but its Darbhanga module remains active in other groups

The Indian Mujahideen orchestrated some of the worst attacks from this module. Not just for the terror groups, this place has become a safe haven for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh too

New Delhi, July 29: A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches at Shakarpur village in Darbhanga, Bihar in connection with the Phulwari Sharif terror case.

This particular case has links with the Popular Front of India (PFI). Earlier the NIA had carried out searches in Jamia Nagar Niswa, Purvi Champaran and a teacher identified as Asghar Ali was arrested.

Darbhanga has been a favourite spot for several terror groups, be it the Students Islamic Movement of India or the Indian Mujahideen. During the days of the Indian Mujahideen, the agencies had found it extremely hard to penetrate this area as these terror groups had plenty of local support.

This is not for the first time that the role of the module in Darbhanga has cropped up. It has been spoken about since 2012 and post the Bodh Gaya blasts, the role of this module had cropped up.

The module in Darbhanga was set up post the collapse of the Pune and Uttar Pradesh modules. The National Investigation Agency in a chargesheet filed against one of the Indian Mujahideen's co-founders Yasin Bhatkal said that this module was set up by him along with his associates Asadullah Akhtar, Manzar Imam, Ujjair Ahmed and others. The NIA also said that in addition to this module they also set up similar ones in Ranchi, Samstipur and Mangalore.

An official OneIndia spoke with said that the toughest module to crack was the one on Darbhanga. The operatives enjoy not just local support but political patronage as well. The influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has only added to the problem.

The Indian Mujahideen orchestrated some of the worst attacks from this module. It is just not the terror groups that have a field day in this place, but it has become a safe haven for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

These people from Bangladesh have not just remained immigrants, but have taken part in terror strikes such as the one in Bodhgaya. The official cited above said that while the Indian Mujahideen may be dead today, the module that it had set up remains intact and this is why so many terror groups are able to take advantage of the same.

When it was set up this module had around 100 operatives. However when the heat was raised on this module, the IM created another at Samastipur. These operatives would often shuttle between the two places. Following the Mumbai 13/7 blasts, the NIA learnt that the terrorists were hard to spot as they kept shifting locations.

Another official explains that both in Darbhanga as well as Samastipur, the terror operatives had created human shields to counter any kind of arrest. Back in 2013 an official who went on a search operation said that apart from all these challenges, the local administration too had made it hard for them.