NIA to investigate IS suspect held in West Bengal

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is formally taking over the probe of suspected IS operative Mohammad Masiuddin who was arrested by the West Bengal CID earlier in the month.

Masiuddin, alias Musa, was nabbed by CID on July 4 from a train in Burdwan and his subsequent interrogation revealed his "links with foreign extremists including the Islamic State (IS)".

The investigators also suspect Musa's involvement with the Bangladeshi militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Probing a blast at a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan district in October 2014, the NIA had busted a terror module of the JMB.

"We have got the government order and we are in the process of registering a case to formally take over the investigations," said NIA Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Kumar Singh.

The agency will soon be moving a court seeking Musa's custody.

"His interrogation is likely to yield crucial information about the activities of IS in India and its link to the Bangladeshi militants," said the officer.

The development comes ahead of Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzamman Khan Kamal's visit to India.

Talks on terrorism will be high on the agenda during Kamal's three day visit beginning July 27. He is also slated to visit the NIA headquarters.