Bihar: Cops to take 5 Afghan nationals on remand to probe terror links

PATNA: The five arrested Afghan nationals are to be taken on police remand for interrogation after initial probe hinted at their connection with sleeper cells of a Bangladesh based terror outfit active in Seemanchal and Mithilanchal region of Bihar. The foreign nationals are currently lodged in Purnia jail.
The five — Md Dawood, Md Kamran, Md Fazal Khan, Md Raza and Ghulam Mohammad — from Sharan district under Paktika province in Afghanistan were arrested from their rented accommodation at Choudhari Tola under Town police station in Katihar last week.
One foreign national, identified as Alman Khan, and house owner Md Monazir had managed to escape. Cloned domicile certificates, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, 15 mobile phones, Rs5 lakh and four motorbikes were seized during the raid.
Katihar SP Vikas Kumar on Sunday said, “Legal formalities are being completed to take the foreign nationals on remand for further questioning. Besides, raids are on to nab the two others. An SIT has been set up for the purpose.”
Though Vikas refused to share more details on the plea that it was related to the nation’s security and would also affect the investigation, he admitted that evidences of money laundering by them in several districts in Bihar and West Bengal have been found during the preliminary investigation.
“Transaction of over Rs1 crore has been detected by the intelligence agencies. In addition, the arrested foreigners admitted to have visited Pakistan and Nepal on several occasions. Three of them had come to India on tourist visa about five years ago,” an investigating officer said.
Kamran reportedly told the interrogators they used to earn Rs10 lakh per year through money lending in Katihar, Kishanganj, Purnia and Araria districts in Seemanchal and Darbhanga, Madhubani and Samastipur in Mithilanchal region.
Kamran revealed that he had visited Guwahati before he finally settled in Katihar where he met Dawood, Fazal, Raza and Ghulam, who were staying in Choudhary Tola. Kamran had visited Katihar Town police station on December 15, which alerted the special branch of the state police.
The SP said experts of the antiterrorism squad (ATS) of the state police quizzed the five and gathered some important clues. The sleuths of the central agencies also interrogated them. “They have been booked for violating Indian Foreign Act and forging documents related to Indian citizenship,” the SP told this newspaper over phone.
Purnia deputy jail superintendent Mritunjay Kumar said the five Afghan nationals have been kept in separate cells due to security reasons.
Authoritative sources said Katihar was on the radar of the intelligence agency following the arrest of one Md Abdul Basir, stated to be a close aide of LeT operative, from Signalpur under Kadwa block in Katihar district in 2013. Basir was evading arrest in 1998 Delhi bomb blast case and was also involved in fake currency deal in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In 2011, Aftab Alam, an Indian Mujahideen operative, was arrested from Jalalgarh in Purnia district for his involvement in the Delhi high court bomb blast case.