On May 22, 2023, the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad arrested four Bangladeshi nationals on the charges that they illegally entered the country and tried to radicalise local youth in Ahmedabad and collect money.
The persons identified are Mohammed Sojhib, Munna Khalid Ansari, Azharul Islam Ansari and Mominul Ansari.
As per the statement from Deepan Bhadran, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Gujarat ATS, the four were part of a local Al-Qaeda module trained by their handlers in Bangladesh.
“Based on the received intelligence, four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants involved in the recruitment of Al-Qaeda were arrested,” said Bhadran.
He added that the police first picked up Sojhib, who used to live earlier in Rakhial Area in Ahmedabad, for questioning.
“Sojhib revealed that he and the three individuals are associated with the Al Qaeda’s network and were receiving instructions from their handler based in Bangladesh, identified as Shariful Islam. Through Islam, the arrested came into contact with Shayba, who is reportedly handling Al-Qaeda operations in the Mymensingh District of Bangladesh.”
According to the ATS, the suspects were trying to radicalise people in Gujarat and were transferring funds to Bangladesh. However, the ATS did not indicate the amount of money these people were transferring.
“Gujarat ATS received information about the four Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in Ahmedabad’s Odhav and Narol areas using duplicate IDs. They are associated with Al-Qaeda and have been motivating Muslim residents of the city to join the militant organisation, as well as collecting funds for Al-Qaeda.”
The ATS said that the fake documents and literature produced by the terror group’s media wing were seized at the instance of the four suspects.
The ATS expressed the focus of its inquiry to identify individuals who facilitated their border crossing, ascertain methods to raise funds and identify local contacts and individuals they may have influenced.
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