STF of Assam Police arrest 2 more members of Ansarullah Bangla Team

The Special Task Force (STF) of the Assam Police arrested two more members of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), said Assam police.

On December 21, the STF had arrested eight members of ABT, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) terrorist organisation. The arrested individuals were sent to police custody for 10 days by a Guwahati court.

Partha Sarathi Mahanta, IGP (STF), told ANI that the court had remanded them to 10 days' police custody. "All arrested 8 accused were produced before the court yesterday (December 19) and they have been remanded 10 days' police custody. We also seized 4 pen drives and other incriminating documents which we are analysing. Among the 8 arrested persons one is Bangladeshi national. All follow up actions are underway," Partha Sarathi Mahanta said.

The Assam STF Chief also stated that the Bangladeshi national, identified as 36-year-old Md. Sad Radi alias Shab Seikh, is a resident of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He entered India in November 2024 to spread their nefarious ideology and create sleeper cells among like-minded individuals across India, intending to initiate violent and subversive actions.

"Md Sad Radi visited Assam and West Bengal to meet sleeper-cell activists of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), before he moved to Kerala for the same purpose and Assam STF team arrested him from Kerala with the help of Kerala police. Two other persons named Minarul Sheikh (40) and Md. Abbas Ali (33) arrested from West Bengal with the help of West Bengal police. On the other hand, five others namely Nur Islam Mandal (40), Abdul Karim Mandal (30), Mojibar Rahman (46), Hamidul Islam (34) and Enamul Hoque (29) were arrested from Kokrajhar and Dhubri district of Assam," Partha Sarathi Mahanta said.

The STF Assam lodged an FIR under various sections, including 61(2)/147/148/149 R/W Section 10/13/16/18/18B/20 UA(P) Act 1967 and R/W Section 12(1)(a) of the Passport Act 1967.

The operation, named "Praghat," was launched under the direct supervision of STF Chief Dr Partha Sarathi Mahanta. Teams were dispatched to various parts of the country to identify jihadi elements, apprehend them, and, during the intervening night of December 17-18, conduct simultaneous search-and-seizure operations in Kerala, West Bengal, and Assam, resulting in the arrest of eight individuals.