NIA arrests 9 suspected Al Qaeda operatives from Bengal, Kerala for ‘planning terror attacks’


The Indian express, 19-09-2020 20:38:48


Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print


Five of the nine arrested

Fire crackers and batteries seized by NIA.

NIA arrests 9 suspected Al Qaeda operatives from Bengal, Kerala for ‘planning terror attacks’

Sources said the raids were carried out based on intelligence inputs which suggested the group was in preparation for an attack. The members had been kept under surveillance for the past few months.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Saturday arrested nine suspected Al Qaeda operatives for allegedly planning a terror strike in various parts of the country at the behest of handlers from Pakistan.

The agency swooped down on the group operating out of Murshidabad in West Bengal and Ernakulam in Kerala in an early morning raid and has recovered country-made pistols, a rudimentary body armour, batteries, switches and firecrackers, literature on homemade IEDs and other “incriminating material”.

Sources said the raids were carried out based on intelligence inputs which suggested the group was in preparation for an attack. The members had been kept under surveillance for the past few months.

“NIA had learnt about an inter-state module of Al-Qaeda operatives at various locations in India including West-Bengal and Kerala. The group was planning to undertake terroris attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” NIA said in a statement.

After receiving inputs, the agency registered an FIR on September 11 and arrested the accused on Saturday.

The agency claimed to have recovered “large quantity of digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices” from the accused.

An NIA source said the group was led by one Murshid Hassan, a casual labourer from Ernakulam in Kerala and all the individuals in the group were in their 20s, “connected” and originally hailed from West Bengal.

Barring two, all the accused are either daily wage labourers or low wage earners. One of the accused is a computer science graduate while another is pursuing graduation in Arts.

An official said the accused had to be arrested as they had recently procured batteries, switches, wires and fire crackers that could be used to make a bomb. “They planned to use potassium chlorate gleaned from the crackers as explosive in the bomb,” the official said.

He added that the group had procured some firearms from Delhi, which they were supposed to deliver in Kashmir on the directions of their Pakistan handlers. However, they had not yet been told who or which group in Kashmir would receive them.

“As per preliminary investigation, these individuals were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places, including the National Capital Region (NCR). For this purpose, the module was actively indulging in fund raising and a few members of gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition. These arrests have pre-empted possible terrorist attacks in various parts of the country,” the NIA said.

The accused – identified as Murshid Hasan, ​Iyakub Biswa and Mosaraf Hossen – hail from Ernakulam, Kerala.

Those from West Bengal have been identified as ​Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, ​Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman.

The arrested accused will be produced before the concerned courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation, the NIA said.

According to NIA, Iyakub Biswas is a salesman at a garments shop in Ernakulam, while Mosaraf Hossen is a cook (parantha maker) in the city.

NIA said Abu Sufian, who worked as a tailor in Murshidabad, is currently engaged in farming. Leu Yean Ahmed, photographed wearing a body armour in the picture, is an electrician in a college.

Mainul Mondal is a cook, while Al Mamun is a mason also doubling up as a driver.

The two educated men among the accused are Ataur Rahman and Najmus Sakib. While the former is a second-year arts student in a Murshidabad college, the latter is pursuing graduation in computer science there, NIA claimed.

Write your Comments on this Article
Your Name
Native Place / Place of Residence
Your E-mail
Your Comment   You have characters left.
Security Validation
Enter the characters in the image above
    
Disclaimer: Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Kemmannu.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.
Please note that under 66A of the IT Act, sending offensive or menacing messages through electronic communication service and sending false messages to cheat, mislead or deceive people or to cause annoyance to them is punishable. It is obligatory on kemmannu.com to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request. Hence, sending offensive comments using kemmannu.com will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Kemmannu.com be held responsible.
Similarly, Kemmannu.com reserves the right to edit / block / delete the messages without notice any content received from readers.




Mangalorean Teen Feryl Rodrigues Shines as May Que
View More

Final Journey of John Henry Almeida (71 years) | LIVE from UdyavaraFinal Journey of John Henry Almeida (71 years) | LIVE from Udyavara
Final Journey of Mrs. Severine Pais (85 years) | LIVE from Milagres, Kallianpur, UdupiFinal Journey of Mrs. Severine Pais (85 years) | LIVE from Milagres, Kallianpur, Udupi
Final Journey of Mrs Lennie Saldanha (89 years) | LIVE from Kemmannu | UdupiFinal Journey of Mrs Lennie Saldanha (89 years) | LIVE from Kemmannu | Udupi
Final Journey of Zita Lewis (77 years) | LIVE from Kallianpur, UdupiFinal Journey of Zita Lewis (77 years) | LIVE from Kallianpur, Udupi
Final Journey of Henry Andrade (83 years) | LIVE from KemmannuFinal Journey of Henry Andrade (83 years) | LIVE from Kemmannu
Final Journey of Mr. Leo Britto (65 years) | LIVE from Mother of Sorrows Church, UdupiFinal Journey of Mr. Leo Britto (65 years) | LIVE from Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi
Mount Rosary Church - Rozaricho Gaanch May 2025 IssueMount Rosary Church - Rozaricho Gaanch May 2025 Issue
Final Journey of Juliana Machado (93 years) | LIVE from Udyavara | UdupiFinal Journey of Juliana Machado (93 years) | LIVE from Udyavara | Udupi
Final Journey of Charles Pereira (78 years) | LIVE from KemmannuFinal Journey of Charles Pereira (78 years) | LIVE from Kemmannu
Milarchi Laram, Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Diocese of Udupi, Bulletin - April 2025Milarchi Laram, Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Diocese of Udupi, Bulletin - April 2025
Holy Saturday | St. Theresa Church, KemmannuHoly Saturday | St. Theresa Church, Kemmannu
Final Journey of Albert Lewis (85years) | LIVE From St Theresa’s Church Kemmannu | UdupiFinal Journey of Albert Lewis (85years) | LIVE From St Theresa’s Church Kemmannu | Udupi
Final Journey of Bernard G D’Souza | LIVE from MoodubelleFinal Journey of Bernard G D’Souza | LIVE from Moodubelle
Earth Angels Kemmannu Unite: Supporting Asha Fernandes on Women’s DayEarth Angels Kemmannu Unite: Supporting Asha Fernandes on Women’s Day
Final Journey of Joseph Peter Fernandes (64 years) | LIVE From Milagres, Kallianpur, UdupiFinal Journey of Joseph Peter Fernandes (64 years) | LIVE From Milagres, Kallianpur, Udupi
Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Udupi - Parish Bulletin - January 2025 IssueMilagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Udupi - Parish Bulletin - January 2025 Issue
Rozaricho Gaanch 2024 December Issue - Mount Rosary Church, SanthekatteRozaricho Gaanch 2024 December Issue - Mount Rosary Church, Santhekatte
Land/Houses for Sale in Kaup, Manipal, Kallianpur, Santhekatte, Uppor, Nejar, Kemmannu, Malpe, Ambalpady.Land/Houses  for Sale in Kaup, Manipal, Kallianpur, Santhekatte, Uppor, Nejar, Kemmannu, Malpe, Ambalpady.
Naturya - Taste of Namma Udupi - Order NOWNaturya - Taste of Namma Udupi - Order NOW
Focus Studio, Near Hotel Kidiyoor, UdupiFocus Studio, Near Hotel Kidiyoor, Udupi