Coded messages in phones of 2 arrested JMB men in Bengal show links with other fundamentalist groups
Kolkata: The West Bengal Police recovered several coded and encrypted messages from the mobile phones of Aazmal Hossain and Saheb Ali Khan, the two Indian associates of Bangladesh-based Islamic fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who were arrested on Friday from Nalhati in Birbhum district, which hint at their links with other fundamentalist groups.
Sources said that some of these coded messages had references of groups like Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT), and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), all being identified as fundamentalist groups with the last two entities being very active in the recent past to open sleeper cells in the Indo-Bangladesh bordering and minority dominated districts in West Bengal like Murshidabad and Malda.
While Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind has its roots in Jammu and Kashmir the main bases of the other two are in Bangladesh, with a focus on spreading their network in bordering districts of West Bengal.
State police sources said that the investigating officials are currently trying to crack all the coded messages on their mobile phones to get a clearer picture of their exact links with different fundamentalist groups.
At the same time, marathon interrogations of Hossain and Khan are on, with both being remanded to 14 days of police custody by a district court in Birbhum district on Friday.
At the same time, the investigating officials have tracked details of some suspicious online transactions.
Already, in the face of interrogation, said sources, Hossain admitted of his failed attempts to go to Bangladesh in the recent past amid increased border surveillance by different central and state security-cum-Intelligence agencies amid the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh.
Recently, the Union Home Ministry received information from Intelligence agencies about the alleged role of illegal Bangladeshi intruders behind the violence and vandalism at the minority-dominated Murshidabad district over violent protests against the newly-promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act.
The names of JMB, HUT and ABT surfaced in that Intelligence input.
However, considering the geographical locations of the pockets where the tension and violence had been maximum this time, especially Samserganj, the possibility of ABT playing some role in the latest violence sounded more logical.
On the eastern side of the International Borders at Samserganj and Dhulian, is the Bangladeshi district of Chapai-Nawabganj, which is considered the stronghold of ABT.
Sources added that because of this geographical proximity, the chances of ABT's involvement in the latest developments at Murshidabad are most likely.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
As Pune gears up for Pride March tomorrow, a transgender couple faces bureaucratic hurdles as they wait to tie the knot
Nearly two years ago, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, affirmed the rights of transgender persons in heterosexual relationships to marry under existing laws. Priti, 29, a transgender from Jamshedpur who aspires to be a beautician and is waiting to tie the knot with Pune-based Trinay, 34, a transman legally recognised as male on his Aadhaar card, however faces several challenges to exercising this right. 'I have my TG Identity card and like any other woman, I want to be a wife, parent, and live with my husband. However, it has been more than one and a half years since the judgment but our transgender community still awaits this right,' Priti said. She hopes to raise this issue at the 13th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer Pride March to be held in Pune on Sunday. Priti, who has passed Class 12 and worked in the hotel management sector, is yet to be accepted by her family. 'I am a transgender person, not a sex worker. I want to become a beautician and earn my living. Mujhe jeena hai (I want to live),' Priti said. She met Trinay on an online portal, and before long, they forged a deep connection as they opened up about their personal struggles, finding strength and understanding in each other's stories. Trinay, assigned female at birth, but who always felt like a male deep inside, had experienced several challenges due to his situation. 'I wanted to pee like a boy, and wear tight T-shirts. Menstruation would give me panic attacks,' recalled Trinay, who works at a tech firm in the city. Deciding that he could not live this dual life anymore, he eventually transitioned to a male after undergoing gender affirming surgery. Speaking to The Indian Express, Trinay said, 'Priti and I have been doing the rounds of the marriage registrar's office only to return disappointed. Instead of guiding us on the online application process and other details, we were asked to obtain a court order.' The duo met Bindumadhav Khire, an LGBTIQ activist and director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation, Pune, and spoke about their difficulty in registering their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. 'Both of them have the requisite IDs. The transman has a collector-issued ID with gender stated as 'male' and the other transgender person has a collector-issued ID with the gender stated as 'transgender' as per provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and the corresponding Rules (2020). I too approached the Marriage Registrar, but was told that they have not received any notification with regard to the legality of registering the marriage of transgender people. So they have to obtain an order from the high court or a notification from the government in this regard,' Khire told The Indian Express. The activist later filed a grievance in May on the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System to the Ministry of Home Affairs/Legislative Matters seeking a notification by the central government, to all states and Union territories, on the legality of registering the marriage of a transgender person in a heterosexual relationship. Khire, who received a response on June 6, said that suggestions made in the grievance have been noted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 'We now hope that action will be taken in this case,' Khire said. When contacted, senior lawyer Anand Grover said that as per the top court's ruling, there was no legal prohibition on transgender individuals from getting married. Meanwhile, at the Marriage Registrar's office, authorities said that the process is now online and they have not received any application from transgender persons so far. While experts said it was likely that some registration offices may require guidance from higher authorities, if they have not previously handled such registrations, Khire said that it was important that LGBTIQ rights granted by the Supreme Court do not remain only on paper. 'This LGBTIQ Pride Month, it is important that LGBTIQ rights granted by the Supreme Court are implemented in letter and spirit. Transgenders who were granted legal recognition in the 2014 judgment (National Legal Services Authority v/s Union of India) still await their right to marry the person of their choice,' Khire added. As per the Supreme Court judgment dated October 17, 2023, in the case involving one Supriyo Chakraborty, the apex court stated, '…..Consequently, we agree with the conclusion…that transgender persons in heterosexual relations have the right to marry under existing laws, including in personal laws regulating marriage. The court's affirmation of the HC judgment in Arun Kumar v Inspector General of Registration…is based upon a correct analysis.' In Arun Kumar's case, the Madras High Court had said in 2019, 'A marriage solemnized between a male and a transwoman, both professing Hindu religion, is a valid marriage in terms of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Registrar of Marriages is bound to register the same. By holding so, this Court is not breaking any new ground. It is merely stating the obvious. Sometimes, to see the obvious, one needs not only physical vision in the eye but also love in the heart.' Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Straight out of Soros playbook': BJP slams Rahul Gandhi's ‘match-fixing' remark over Maharashtra polls
Amid the ongoing controversy over Rahul Gandhi's 'match-fixing' remark on Maharashtra election results, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused the Congress of deliberately undermining public trust in India's democratic institutions, a move he likened to tactics allegedly associated with billionaire George Soros. Malviya's remarks, which were posted on X, came in response to Rahul Gandhi's latest criticisms of the electoral process with respect to last year's Maharashtra Assembly Election and the upcoming Bihar polls. "When Congress wins — be it in Telangana or Karnataka — the same system is hailed as fair and just. But when they lose — from Haryana to Maharashtra — the whining and conspiracy theories begin, without fail. This is straight out of George Soros' playbook — systematically erode people's faith in their own institutions, so they can be cracked open from within for political gains. India's democracy is strong. Its institutions are resilient. And the Indian voter is wise. No amount of manipulation will change that," Malviya posted on X. On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy" and questioned the integrity of voter lists. Rahul Gandhi claimed in a newspaper article. Slamming Gandhi for his remarks, Malviya also questioned the consistency of the Congress party's stance on electoral fairness. "It is not that Rahul Gandhi doesn't understand how the electoral process works. He does very well. But his goal is not clarity, it is chaos. His repeated attempts to sow seeds of doubt and dissension in the minds of voters about our institutional processes are deliberate," Malviya's post added. In response to the allegation made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi regarding the Maharashtra election, the Election Commission described it as "unsubstantiated allegations." "Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are completely being ignored while raising such issues again and again," the ECI statement read.
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Bharat Mata portrait row: CPI hoists national flag, plants saplings
Thrissur , CPI, the second-largest partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala, on Saturday hoisted the national flag and planted saplings as a mark of protest against the usage of the Bharat Mata portrait at an Environment Day event in the Raj Bhavan. State Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P Prasad had boycotted the event at the Raj Bhavan on June 5 over the use of the portrait, citing that it was the one used by the RSS. The Left party had announced that it would hoist the national flag, which is the symbol of Bharat Mata, at all its branches on Saturday and would plant saplings as a mark of protest against the Raj Bhavan's action. CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam hoisted the flag and planted the sapling at the party district office in Thrissur on Saturday morning. State Revenue Minister P Rajan and senior leader and former minister V S Sunil Kumar were among those who were present during the protest event. After the event, Viswam sought to know whether the Constitution of the country or the policies of the RSS were important for Governor Vishwanath Rajendra Arlekar. "This flag is the Bharat Mata. There is no Bharat Mata other than this," he said, hoisting the national flag. Apparently criticising the Governor, he said any attempt to impose another concept of Bharat Mata is "unconstitutional" and "anti-national". CPI leaders and workers gathered and raised "Bharat Mata ki jai" slogan also. Meanwhile, CPI state secretary M V Govindan rejected reporters' question about whether the ruling party was not keen to criticise the Governor in the matter like its front partner CPI. "Raj Bhavan should not be used as a venue to propagate communal ideologies. No symbol that propagates communal ideologies should be displayed at a public place like Raj Bhavan. That is our stand," he said. He also said he himself appreciated Agriculture Minister Prasad when he had boycotted the Raj Bhavan event over the portrait issue. The Left government in Kerala on Friday made it clear that it was not in agreement with the use of the Bharat Mata portrait at the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan here, as the picture was not authorised as the official version by the Constitution or the Indian government. Minister Prasad, who had boycotted the event, said on Friday that those in constitutional offices cannot convert government programmes into political events. A similar view was also expressed by state General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who said that the Raj Bhavan and the Governor were above politics and said that Arlekar should withdraw from the stand taken by him. As the incident triggered a row, the Governor had issued a statement saying that "Whatever be the pressure, from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata."
