The arrest of a Myanmarese, a Rohingya Muslim of Burma, in Hyderabad on November 17 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a blast of West Bengal, has unfolded another page of Islamist terrors in India. Identified as Khalid Mohammed, a bomb expert, who was instrumental in running terror camps along the Bangladesh- Burma border areas, the Burmese national may emerge as a prized catch for the investigative agency which is probing Jammat–ul Mujahiddin Bangladesh’s terror network in eastern India.

Otherwise, the issue related to Rohingya people was familiar with the politics in Burma only, where they are defined as Stateless nationals. 

India’s anti-terror federal agency (NIA) can now claim to find a major breakthrough in their investigation into the terror design by the Bangladesh based Jehadi group (JMB) spread over the country.
The JMB, whose terror network in West Bengal and Assam has already been unveiled, reportedly uses video clippings narrating the ‘atrocities on Muslims’ to attract potential new recruits. The leaders of JMB, which wants to establish a complete Islamic regime in Dhaka, used to show these videos recorded in Kashmir & Assam of India and western part of Burma, where the Muslims are allegedly ill-treated and even killed.

The JMB is apprehended to rely on Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, based in the Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh for its various activities.  The present conflict between the Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists of Arakan State of Burma is exploited to attract more Muslim youths to join in JMB’s mission.

In fact, an accidental blast in Burdwan of West Bengal on October 2 had unfolded the inherent network of the JMB in India. Now under probe by the NIA, the development shocked the people of India as the terror outfit was working to establish Sharia law in their eastern neighbor  (Bangladesh).

The JMB has already trained many Indian Muslim youths with terror activities and it has used few Madrasa institutes based in Murshidabad, Malda and Nadia districts of West Bengal. The trained Jihadis were empowered to manufacture grenades, which were later sent  to Bangladesh for disruptive activities.
The JMB, which hates the words like democracy, socialism and even secularism, was formed in 1998 in Bangladesh with the funds from their supporters based in foreign countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia,  Libya, Pakistan, the UAE etc. It may have over 10,000 active cadres with millions of trainees.
The JMB received international attention with its serial blasts in over 300 locations across Bangladesh including the Dhaka city on August 17, 2005. The terror group calmed the responsibility for the  bombings through leaflets where it was written, “We are the soldiers of Allah. We have taken up arms for the implementation of Allah's law…It is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh…. There is no  future with man-made laws…."

By October 31, the NIA  interrogated and arrested few suspected terrorists and their associates in West Bengal and came out with a  list comprising 12 most wanted terrorists in connection with the Burwan blast. Many of them carried cash prizes on their heads.
By the second week of November, the NIA  with the help of West Bengal police could arrest Sajid alias Masood Rana, a Bangladeshi national,who featured in the NIA list carrying a reward of Rupees 10,00,000.

The investigative agency also succeeded in arresting Amjad Ali Sheikh,a supplier of explosives to the JMB.
The NIA is still looking for Nasirullah & Kausar (both are Bangladeshi citizens) with Habibur Rahman Sheikh, Abdul Kalam, Burhan Sheikh, Rezaul Karim,  Zahirul Shaikh, Talha Sheikh, Yusuf Sheikh (all from West Bengal) and Sahanur Alam (from Assam). Meanwhile, Assam police  have arrested Sahanur’s wife Suzena Beguam from Guwahati.
Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Assam government has recently handed over all cases related to Jehadi activities in Assam to the NIA, such that those cases could be probed thoroughly as it has international ramification.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who is also in charge of Home portfolio, admitted that some areas of this State became a major concentration of Jihadi elements. Earlier six suspected residents of Barpeta were arrested by the Assam police on October 10 in suspicion of being the linkmen to the JMB. The arrested individuals namely Shaikhul Islam, Golam Usmani,  Sarbesh Ali,  Rafiqul Islam,  Shiraj Ali Khan, Muhammad Jahuruddin, are in  judicial custody now.

Days back, Gogoi even wrote to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging  him to take up the matter of Jehadi elements with the Bangladesh government for sharing information and coordinated actions. He opined  that northeast India remained vulnerable to Islamic terrorist outfits because of unabated influxes from Bangladesh and also presence of several fundamentalist organizations.
Meanwhile, an NIA team recently visited Dhaka seeking more details about the JMB activities. The Bangladesh government led by Sheikh Hasina declared that it would share all relevant documents with the NIA for the interest of both the neighboring countries, which is definitely more pertinent to Bangladesh than India.

[ Mr. Nava Thakuria is a Senior Journalist based in Guwahati, writes on various issues to Media across Asia, Secretary of JFA (Journalists’ Forum of Assam ) ]