ATS probing role of 5 Bangladeshi nationals in Bodhgaya blast

The Maharashtra ATS is probing whether the five Bangladeshi nationals arrested by them had any role in terrorist activities in the country including the 2013 Bodhgaya blast, an official said today.

The five were arrested for allegedly providing shelter to suspected terrorists of the Bangladesh-based Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), believed to be the front of the Al-Qaeda, which is banned in that country.

According to the ATS, the ABT is emerging as a new terror threat to India.

"They have a highly evolved organisational set up and are very proficient in the use of SIM cards and mobile phones. The outfit is emerging as a new terror threat to India," he said.

Out of the five Bangladeshi nationals, three were arrested from Pune on March 17 while two--one from Ambarnath in Thane district and another from Mahad in Raigad district--were picked up yesterday.

"We are probing their suspected role in harbouring and providing logistical support to the ABT terrorists. Their possible backward linkages in the terrorist activities in the country, including the Bodhgaya blast, are also being probed," he said.

A series of ten bombs exploded in and around the Mahabodhi Temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bodh Gaya, on July 7, 2013, injuring five people, including two Buddhist monks.

The accused, aged between 25 and 31 years, hailed either from Khulna or Shariyatpur in Bangladesh and were probably staying illegally in Pune for the past two years.

The ATS had recovered a fake PAN card and an Aadhaar card from their possession, he said.

One of the key accused, identified as Raj Mandal (31), works as a supervisor in a construction company.