With the crisis in Bangladesh looming large, it is not just the radical Islamists, but the terror groups too are taking advantage of the situation. The Al-Qaeda which has a reasonable presence in Bangladesh has activated its modules in India, with the intention of carry out terror attacks.
It may be recalled that last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had filed a chargesheet against Mohd. Sojibmiyan, Munna Khalid Ansari alias Munna Khan, Azarul Islam alias Jahangir or Aakash Khan, and Abdul Latif alias Mominul Ansari. All these were sympathisers of the Al-Qaeda and were furthering the cause of the outfit at the behest of their handlers based in Bangladesh.
The Al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent (AQIS) which was formed in 2014 had set a road map for itself whereby, it would focus extensively on Indian states along the Bangladesh border. The outfit over the years invested a lot in this project.
The AQIS went on a recruitment spree for nearly three years. While in Bangladesh, it tapped into the Muslim youth after brainwashing them in India, the picks were more from those who had infiltrated under the guise of migrant labour from Bangladesh.
Gradually it went about setting up modules in Assam and West Bengal owing the large number of illegal immigrants that had come into these states. By around 2017, it formed a proxy group in Kerala called the Base Movement. The Base Movement was formed in a bid to champion the cause of the Muslims in South India. Its main target for a couple of years were judges or police personnel and politicians. The outfit said that it is targeting these individuals as they believe that these persons have not been fair to the Muslim community.
On a closer look, the list which it had prepared were of those people who had dealt with cases of radicalisation, conversions and terrorism all involving the Muslim youth. However the Base Movement did manage to get traction and has a considerable base in Kerala and some other parts of Southern India.
The larger plan
For the AQIS the primary focus is however on Bangladesh, West Bengal and Assam. It has also been trying to further its cause in the states of Tripura, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir.
The outfit was lying low for sometime owing to major crackdowns by agencies such as the NIA. However with the Bangladesh crisis, it sensed an opportunity to get back to work and undertake its operation.
On Monday, the NIA carried out raids in Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Assam and Bihar. The raids came in the wake of specific and actionable Intelligence that said that the AQIS was re-grouping and was looking to carry out attacks. The NIA is also probing the conspiracy angle in this case and said that the same is being controlled from Bangladesh. During the raids, incriminating material was found. This included digital devices and other material, which spoke about the plans in place for the operatives of the outfit.
Since the fall of the Awami League government in Bangladesh, radical Islamists have had a free run. The AQIS too decided to wake up its sleeper cells in the wake of the crisis.
When the crisis broke out, the Intelligence Bureau had signalled to the security agencies about the potential comeback of the Al-Qaeda. The inputs were picked up following intercepts which showed that the members of the Al-Qaeda were in touch with the Ansar Bangla Team (ABT). The ABT which is an affiliate of the Al-Qaeda has a strong presence in both West Bengal and Assam.
The release of Talah and its implications
The Indian agencies had tracked one operative who goes by the name Talah. He was in India for a considerable time. During his stay in India, he had surveyed several targets in the North East and also undertaken a physical recruitment drive.
With his job being done, he returned to Bangladesh. This was informed to Bangladesh by India and under Sheikh Hasina, he was arrested.
However with the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, Talah was released. The man who works for the ABT and Al-Qaeda following his release got back to work and activated the cells in Assam and Bengal. Talah who has been tasked with growing the outfit in the North East is already at work. He is in fact trying to establish more bases in the North East.
It may be recalled that two of Talha’s associates, Bahar Mia and Rarely Mia were arrested in Assam as they had been trying establish modules in the state. Both are originally from Bangladesh.
With these developments, security at the border with Bangladesh has been ramped up. The Border Security Force which mans the border is carrying out round the clock patrolling. In addition this, it is also holding village coordination meetings with the Indian villagers residing along the border areas.
In all 614 such meetings have been held and the response to the same has been good, a Border Security Force official told Organiser. During the meetings, the force has been sensitising the people about the situation in Bangladesh and how concerted efforts are being made to disrupt peace in the bordering states. The BSF also asked the villagers to give them a tip off in case, they come across anything suspicious taking place in their villages.
