In a major operation, the Gujarat Crime Branch arrested 50 Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in Ahmedabad. The arrested individuals were involved in various illegal activities, including the production of fake documents and prostitution. Authorities are also questioning over 200 people as part of an ongoing investigation.

DCP Ajit Rajiyan of Gujarat Police confirmed the arrests and emphasized the ongoing efforts to curb illegal immigration. “We are continuing our crackdown on illegal residents,” he said, adding that more than 200 individuals are being questioned.

The arrests follow similar actions in other states, including Pune and Tripura, where Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended for possessing fake documents such as Aadhaar and PAN cards. Many of the arrested had entered India by crossing the West Bengal border on foot or by sea, with some bringing children as young as three to five years old.

Authorities have seized several fraudulent documents from the arrested individuals, including voter IDs and PAN cards, as well as mobile phones and Bangladeshi currency. Investigations are ongoing to determine the length of their stay in India and the full extent of their illegal activities. Initial findings suggest that many of the suspects have been in the country for periods ranging from six months to ten years.

Authorities are also looking into the possibility of an organized trafficking racket operating along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The trafficking network allegedly charges illegal immigrants around four thousand rupees for their entry into India, where they are provided with fake identities and relocated to different parts of the country, including Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Maharashtra.

The crackdown is part of broader efforts to curb illegal immigration and dismantle trafficking networks exploiting the porous borders between India and Bangladesh.

In a major breakthrough, the Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested eight terror suspects, including a Bangladesh national, Md Sad Radi, who is associated with the Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). Radi had entered India in November with the goal of activating sleeper cells in Assam and West Bengal. After carrying out initial operations, he moved to Kerala, where he was arrested in a coordinated effort with Kerala and Bengal police.

The STF’s operation, named “Praghat,” was launched based on detailed intelligence that uncovered plans by the terrorist group to target Hindu organizations, particularly members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Radi’s movement across multiple states raised alarms, suggesting that the terror plot was larger in scope than initially anticipated.

The group, led by Md Farhan Israk, an aide of an ABT leader in Bangladesh, was plotting violent acts, including assassinations of prominent Hindu leaders, to create communal unrest and disrupt national harmony. According to the STF, the suspects were working to recruit youth into terrorist organizations and were involved in spreading radical ideologies across West Bengal and Kerala.

The arrested individuals, including Minarul Sheikh, Md Abbas Ali, and others, were found to have participated in several meetings where they devised strategies to target Hindu groups and influence vulnerable youth to join their cause. These meetings, held in locations across West Bengal like Murshidabad and Falakata, were aimed at fostering religious tensions.

Special Director General of Police Harmeet Singh highlighted the importance of this operation in curbing the spread of external jihadi elements into India, stressing that it was a crucial step in preventing a potential outbreak of violence. The STF’s success in dismantling this plot underscores the growing threat posed by terrorist networks in the region and the need for continued vigilance.

Training to derail trains being imparted via madarsas in Jhansi and Kanpur, reveals NIA-ATS probe, mob had freed Mufti Khalid Nadvi detained in connection with the conspiracy.
As per the probe, students of the madarsas are being radicalised and instigated to derail trains. Moreover, the youths are also being trained on how to derail trains.

Amid rising incidents of attempts to derail trains by placing various objects on tracks are various places in the country, it has been revealed that training on how to derail trains was being imparted in madarsas. A probe by NIA and Uttar Pradesh ATS has unveiled a conspiracy to derail trans in Jhansi and Kanpur.

As per the probe, students of the madarsas are being radicalised and instigated to derail trains. Moreover, the youths are also being trained on how to derail trains. As part of the probe, the agencies are conducting raids at various madarsas in the region.

Such training is being imparted via online mode, and the probe teams recovered several videos. In the videos, radical Islamists are seen instigating youths to derail train, and also instructing on how to do the task.

One Madarsa teacher named Mufti Khalid Nadvi is being interrogated in connection with the conspiracy.

On Thursday, the investing team raided the houses of Nadvi and questioned him for several hours. However, when NIA and ATS teams were taking him to the police station for further interrogation, a massive Muslim mob attacked the convoy and freed Nadvi. The mob including a large number of women gathered after announcements were made from the local mosque.

Later the police again detained him, and he is being questioned. How laptop, mobile phone, and other items have been seized. He is accused of involvement in terrorist activities and foreign funding. After questioning, police released Mufti Khalid Nadvi.

Police have also filed a case against around 100 people for attacking the NIA-ATS team and freeing the detained person. Raids are being conducted to nab the accused.

In the last 3 months, there have been several attempts to derail important trains like the Sabarmati Express and Kalindi Express around Jhansi and Kanpur. Stones were also pelted on the ‘Vande Bharat’ train in this region. Various objects like cylinders, wood logs etc were placed on the tracks, however, they were spotted by alert railway workers or locals, and there was no untoward incident.

Photo: File Photo