Al- Qaeda terrorists hiding in West Bengal [ West Bengal, India ]

[ Reported as seen ]

On 17^th August, the special task force (STF) unit of the West Bengal Police arrested 2 Muslim men having links with Al-Qaeda from the Shashan village of Barasat block in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The STF source confirmed that the detained persons have been identified as Abdur Rakib Sarkar, a resident of Gangarampur, District Dakshin Dinajpur, and Kazi Ahasan Ullah, a resident of Arambagh, District Hooghly. Several pieces of radical literature indicative of waging war against the Union of India were found in their possession.

The duo might be active members of the banned terrorist outfit in the Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS), an affiliate group of Al-Qaida, said the police.

Reportedly, the STF received a tip on the night of 17 August about Al Qaeda terrorists hiding in North Parganas, along with incriminating materials including anti-national documents. The  STF acted efficiently and raided the Kharibari area of Shashan, North Parganas, where they found the terrorists.

According to a media report, the STF learned that Sarkar would arrive late at the evening of 16 August to meet Kazi Ahshanullah at the latter’s residence in Shashan in North 24 Parganas. Accordingly, STF sleuths laid traps and nabbed Sarkar along with Ahshanullah as soon as they reached Shashan.

It is to be noted that everal cases have been registered against Sarkar and Kazi Ahshanullah at various police stations in West Bengal. STF was looking for both of them for a long time for active involvement in insurgency activities.

According to reports, during interrogation, the Muslim men admitted to being active members of AQIS. The STF investigators are currently questioning them about their other associates in the West Bengal terrorist chain or sleeper cells. STF sources said that the terrorists named 17 others who have been active in the region during their interrogation. The police, accordingly, is now initiating a specific case under the various provisions of the UAPA and IPC against the two detained men and the other 17 names revealed during their interrogation thus far.