India uncovers suspected plot to assassinate Bangladeshi PM

Indian agencies have arrested at least six people tied to the coup plot

India's top counter-terrorism agency on Wednesday declared that it had uncovered a suspected plot by a banned militant group to assassinate the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and carry out a coup.

India will hand over a dossier to Bangladesh with details of the plan by members of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, which has carried out scores of attacks in India's eastern neighbour, the government and police officials said.

The alleged conspiracy was discovered after two members of the group were killed in an explosion while building homemade bombs at a house in the Burdwan region of West Bengal earlier this month. Indian police say the militants were Bangladeshis and were using India as a safe haven to plan the attacks.

Bangladesh did not comment directly on the assertions that Prime Minister Hasina had been the target of a plot, but said it had tightened security on the border with India.

According to the National Investigation Agency, the law enforcement institution investigating the case, India has arrested at least six people tied to the coup plot.

Police found nearly five dozen crude bombs and arrested two women who were living in the same house and were trying to burn bomb-making manuals after the incident. In a nearby home, police found 35 unexploded bombs.

In 2013, troops of India's paramilitary, Border Security Force (BSF) were put on high alert at the Bangladesh border with intelligence agencies predicting an increase in infiltration due to the growing political instability in the delta nation.