Guwahati, 3 January (HS): The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police has uncovered a radical network operating across Assam, Tripura and neighbouring areas, with established links to a Bangladesh-based extremist organisation, marking a major breakthrough in STF Police Station Case No. 06/2025.

According to the STF, the investigation revealed that towards the end of 2024, Nasim Uddin alias Tamim of Nichuka in Barpeta Road came into contact with a YouTube channel propagating the concept of “Mujaddid,” a belief in Islam that a religious reformer appears every 100 years. During this period, he interacted with a Bangladesh-based individual identified as Khalid, who later connected him through Telegram. Through this Telegram account, radical ideology was spread by sharing religious books, PDFs and so-called “Ilham” (divine messages).

STF officials stated that Khalid, acting on the directions of Umar, Sujan bin Sultan and Shamim Barah from Bangladesh, Mir Rahman from West Bengal and Jagir Mian of Agartala in Tripura, misinterpreted Hadiths and claimed the arrival of “Imam Mahmud” as the Mujaddid. Subsequently, a Telegram group named “Purba Akash” was created, with Khalid as its initial administrator and later Nasim Uddin taking over the role. Through this group, messages related to “Ghazwat-ul-Hind”were circulated among several members.

The investigation further found that the religious books cited to justify these claims did not exist, exposing the propaganda as fabricated. STF confirmed that the activities were linked to an organisation called “Imam Mahmud-er Kafela” (IMK), a splinter group of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The group was founded in 2018 by former JMB cadre Jewel Mahmud alias Imam Mahmud Habibullah alias Sohel and actively propagates the violent ideology of “Ghazwat-ul-Hin.”

In connection with the case, a total of 11 accused persons have been arrested from Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta and Darrang districts of Assam, as well as from Agartala in Tripura and produced before the court. During interrogation, the accused reportedly admitted to the allegations mentioned in the FIR.

The STF also revealed that the accused had begun collecting funds in Barpeta, Chirang and other districts of lower Assam. It was found that in some mosques, individuals were allegedly being instigated to support armed struggle against the Indian state. The objective of the network was to trigger communal violence in Assam and Tripura. Investigators further disclosed that Nasim Uddin of Barpeta, described as the Amir of the group, had travelled to Bangladesh in April–May 2024 along with an associate from Tripura, where he participated in meetings and training sessions.

STF officials said that further investigation is underway in a phased manner to identify additional members of the network, trace funding sources and examine the full extent of the group’s activities.---------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash