Guwahati: Ahead of the Independence Day celebration, the Assam police successfully arrested one Islamist terrorist from a remote riverine area of Dhubri district on August 5th. The Assam Police arrested an Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) terrorist in Dhubri from a remote area near the Bangladesh border. The ABT terrorist was identified as Abdus Sukur Ali.
He was arrested early in the morning on August 5th from the remote Nayeralga area under the jurisdiction of Bilasipara police station. Police followed his movement for several days, and arrest was made on specific intelligence input.
Dhubri Superintendent of Police Navin Singh told reporters that the police seized several handsets used for communication with ABT terrorists in Bangladesh and documents with links to the ABT. A case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered against the arrested terrorist.
SP Singh said that “In the run-up to Independence Day, Dhubri Police were on high alert along the India-Bangladesh border to prevent members of Islamic fundamentalist organisations from entering the state and committing any crime,”.
“A member of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) module, Abdus Sukur Ali, from Takimari near the Bangladesh border, was apprehended early this morning from a remote area called Nayeralga under Bilasipara Police Station led by @Dhubri Police. Currently , the police are interrogating the individual extensively,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
A member of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) module, Abdus Sukur Ali, son of Akbar Ali, from Takimari near the Bangladesh border, was apprehended early this morning from a remote area called Nayeralga under Bilasipara Police Station by a team led by @Dhubri_Police . Currently,…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 5, 2023
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said in the 4th Superintendent of Police conclave held in Bongaigaon that Assam is a potential place for Islamic terror modules due to its proximity to neighbouring country Bangladesh and a huge Muslim population, and this was being neutralised from time to time and it will continue. On April 23rd, Three persons with links to the Bangladeshi proscribed outfit Ansarul Bangla Team (ABT), were arrested from Assam’s Dhubri district during a search operation. The arrested terrorists were Shafiqul Islam, from the Bagulamari area of the town, Muzahidul Mondal from Sastarghat Part-ll and Badshah Sheikh from Takimari.
It should be mentioned that the arrest of ABT and Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operatives followed the demolition of private ‘madrasas’,as many teachers with links with these terrorist groups carried out the agenda of radicalising youth. It was found that these ABT and AQIS-linked madrassa teachers were involved in radicalising youth in Char (riverine areas) of several districts.
It was considered by the security agencies as a serious threat to the security of the state. In June this year National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 4 Jihadi linked with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) from the Goalpara district of Assam. A joint team of Assam police and NIA raided three locations in Barpeta and Goalpara districts and arrested the jihadi members. Out of the four arrests, three Jihadis were on bail granted by the court. Another Jihadi was arrested from the nearby Bongaigaon district.
The arrested jihadists were identified as Abdus Sobahan of Govindpur under Goalpara police station, Abdus Sobahan of Tinkonia under Marnai police station and Jalaluddin Sheikh of Matia Tilapara while Hafizur Rahman of Kabaitari under Bongaigaon police station.It should be mentioned that Assam police arrested Abdus Sobahan, Abdus Sobahan and Jalaluddin Sheikh for their link with Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a terrorist organisation based in Bangladesh and part of the Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The three jihadis were arrested by the NIA days after being granted bail.
Police sources said that after getting bail, the three Jihadis reinvolved in anti-national activities and were planning to reactivate new jihadi modules in the state.Jalaluddin Seikh, who was given bail by the court one month ago, was trying to set up an ABT wing in the state and was communicating with his handlers in Bangladesh, police sources said. It should be mentioned that as many as 53 ‘jihadis’, including one from Bangladesh, have been arrested in Assam since March 2022. Another five terrorists from Bangladesh are on the run and recruiting Muslim youth in ABT by influencing them in various mosques and madrasas.
A total of 114 “jihadis” have been arrested from different parts of Assam in the last ten years, including 53 in 2021-22. Out of the 114 “Jihadis”, 65 were members of the banned terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and nine were from Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). The list also includes 40 cadres of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) who have been arrested since March 2022.
