The Southern terror plot thickens as NIA arrests a key member of JMB from Bengal

New Delhi, Dec 17: The National Investigation Agency has arrested one Mosaraf Hosain in connection with a case relating to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh.

Hosain a resident of Murshidabad district, West Bengal was arrested by the NIA and would be produced before the court today.

The case relates to the seizure of 5 improvised hand grenades, fabricated grenade caps, IEDs among other incriminating material. The material was seized from a house near Bengaluru on July 8 2019. The house was rented by members of the JMB, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

Investigations have revealed that Hosain, an active member of the JMB visited Bengaluru in the first week of March 2018 along with Asif Iqbal, who is also an accused in this case. During his stay, he along with Jahidul Islam, Habibur Rehman and others had committed two dacoities to raise funds for the outfit.

The members of this module had planned on carrying out a series of attacks in the southern states. In June, the NIA had arrested Habibur Rehman and it had come to light that he had travelled across several places and plotted attacks.

He told the NIA during interrogation that he had travelled to Bengal, Bengaluru, Kerala and Chennai. During the interrogation of Islam too the NIA had learnt that he had travelled to several places across the country and the agency suspects that it was to strengthen the activities of the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Rehman according to the NIA landed in Bengaluru in 2015. He then took up a job with a contractor in K R Puram. However following an NIA crackdown which led to arrests in Maharashtra, he moved out of Bengaluru. The case of Islam too is similar. He was residing in Bengaluru and following the crackdown, he moved to Ramanagara, the NIA has learnt.

NIA officials tell OneIndia that these persons had a free run all these years. They would mingle with the local population and take shelter. They were so convincing that their contractor for whom they worked had no idea about their activities. The NIA is now trying to ascertain, where these persons had transported the bombs that they had prepared. It may be recalled that hours after Habibur's arrest, two bombs were found in a drain at Ramanagara.

Rehman was a close associate of senior JMB leader Jahidul Islam alias Kausar. He was also associated with other JMB leaders like Rahamatullah and Moulana Yusuf. He was an active member of JMB, Bolpur Module in West Bengal. He had attended a number of training camps conducted by JMB.