NIA: Searching for 2 Malda men with links to al-Qaeda

According to sources, the six arrested are local recruits of the terrorist organisation, and were planning to spread their ideology in the area. The NIA tracked them through GPS, and later allegedly found some offshore monetary transactions that are now under investigation.

According to sources, the NIA also traced a few numbers of those arrested to Kashmir. The agency suspects they were in touch with their Valley counterparts. The NIA is also trying to dig out more inputs from a WhatsApp group the accused were allegedly part of, and has shared some inputs with state agencies for better surveillance.

Meanwhile, the six accused were flown to Delhi on Monday in three flights, said sources in the NIA. While they were being taken to Kolkata airport, one of those arrested told the media, “We were not planning anything.”

Apart from those held in Murshidabad, three were arrested in Ernakulam in Kerala the same day. The NIA has claimed they were radicalised by a Pakistan-based al-Qaeda module on social media, which was motivating them to carry out attacks at multiple places, including the National Capital Region.

The nine have been identified as Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas and Mosaraf Hossen – arrested in Ernakulam – and Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman. Sources said Murshid Hasan had allegedly influenced Abu Sufiyan to join the outfit. Hasan and Sufiyan are from the same village in Murshidabad.

On Sunday, the police discovered an under-construction underground chamber in Sufiyan’s house. His family members claimed that they were constructing a bathroom and the place was meant to be utilised as a septic tank. However, sources said the agency suspects it was being built to store explosives.