The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against 11 alleged activists of the Bangladesh-based terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The case stems from a multi-state operation led by the Assam Police Special Task Force in December last year, during which 11 men from Assam, Tripura and West Bengal were arrested before the NIA took over the investigation.
According to the central agency, they allegedly conspired to expand the extremist activities of its offshoot, Imam Mahmud Kavila (IMK), in Assam, Tripura, West Bengal and other parts of the northeast.
The chargesheet was filed before the special NIA court in Guwahati under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, 2023 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, the agency said on Friday.
The central agency has identified two suspects, Naseemuddin and Jagir Mia, as key employees who are allegedly leading IMK activities in Assam and Tripura respectively.
The agency said the accused were involved in activities such as secret meetings, religious indoctrination programmes, distribution of extremist literature and use of digital platforms for anti-India propaganda while promoting loyalty to the leadership of IMK and JMB.
“NIA investigations revealed the active involvement of the accused in Imam Mahmud Kavila’s conspiracy to expand the ideology of the terrorist group in West Bengal and the north-eastern states of India, including Assam and Tripura,” the agency said in a statement.
The NIA said investigators recovered incriminating documents, electronic devices and digital records during the investigation, which formed part of the evidence approved in the indictment. She added that further investigations into the case are continuing.
Inspector General of Police Partha Sarathi Mahanta said the 11 suspects were arrested as part of Operation Pratighat, an anti-terrorism operation that has been intensified in recent months to neutralize suspected extremist and jihadi activities in the area.
He added that IMK was formed in 2018 by Jawhara Mahmoud, also known as Imam Mahmoud Habibullah or Sohail, a former JMB member who claims to be the Emir of IMK and propagates the extremist ideology of Ghazwat-ul-Hind, with the aim of expanding the banned group’s activities and ideology in India.
“We were closely monitoring jihadist activities in coordination with CIA agencies,” Maanta said. “Based on specific inputs, we discovered Imam Mahmud Kafila’s unit.”
Those arrested include residents of Assam’s Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa and Darrang districts, in addition to one person from West Tripura district. An activist was also arrested in West Bengal and transferred to Assam for further interrogation.
The Assam unit was headed by Naseemuddin alias Tamim (24), a resident of Barpeta Road, who was identified as the in-charge of IMK operations in the state and was among those arrested, police officers said.
The officers added that two Bangladeshi nationals were coordinating activities in Assam across the border.
The officers said some of the 11 detainees traveled to Bangladesh on valid Indian passports and visas for meetings and training before 2023, while others were encouraged to migrate with their families to the neighboring country for weapons training.
Maanta said the December 30 arrests were the first phase of special forces operations against suspected anti-national activities and that further action would follow based on actionable intelligence. “The network is not limited to Assam and West Bengal, but has links to other parts of the country. More details cannot be revealed at this stage as operations are ongoing,” he added.
