New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out simultaneous searches on 16 premises across Kerala, West Bengal and Assam on Monday in connection with a cross-border terror plot spearheaded by Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), an offshoot of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The coordinated operations targeted 10 sites in Assam, 5 in West Bengal and 1 location in Keralam.

The anti-terror agency’s latest crackdown follows a chargesheet filed three months prior against 11 individuals implicated in the IMK-led conspiracy. Filed before the Special NIA Court in Guwahati, the formal charges were framed under key provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, alongside the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

 

Nationwide terror network targeted

According to investigators, the accused were actively engaged in a broader blueprint by IMK, acting as a front for JMB, to propagate extremist ideology across Kerala, West Bengal and north-eastern regions including Assam and Tripura.

The overarching objective centered on radicalising vulnerable youth, disseminating extremist propaganda and systematically expanding the outfit's clandestine infrastructure within India.

Agency probes established that senior JMB operative Imam Mahmud Habibullah floated IMK specifically to advance the outlawed group's operations on Indian soil.

The chargesheeted individuals reportedly organised secret gatherings, conducted religious indoctrination sessions, distributed radical literature and leveraged digital channels to execute anti-India propaganda aimed at securing pledges of allegiance to IMK and JMB leadership.

Key figures named in the agency's earlier filings include Nasimuddin, who headed IMK's operations in Assam, and Jagir Mia, who directed activities in Tripura. Throughout the investigation, the NIA recovered a large volume of digital records, electronic devices and incriminating documentation to substantiate the charges.

 

ANI