KOLKATA/BURDWAN: West Bengal Police STF on Saturday arrested suspected terrorist Hamim Mondal’s girlfriend, Arpita Sarkar, from Sahibganj in Jharkhand and said they are probing the duo’s alleged plan to foment trouble at Jantar Mantar, the site of recent student protest.Hamim, who was allegedly tracking Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, was arrested from a residential township in Burdwan Friday.“Hamim was working under instructions received through social media and encrypted messaging apps from individuals using Pakistani handles and phone numbers. He was instructed to buy police uniforms and head to Jantar Mantar in Delhi with a group of men and women to create disturbance there. We are yet to ascertain whether he was able to build that team and travel to Delhi,” said STF IG Gaurav Sharma.
The STF tracked down Arpita while investigating Hamim’s alleged links with Pakistan-based terror outfits. Cops said the two have known each other for four years, but she is not Hamim’s only accomplice. They are investigating a recruitment network allegedly built by him over the past four to five months.Arpita was picked up after investigators found Instagram chats between her and Hamim. She was produced before a Burdwan court on Saturday and sent to STF custody for 13 days. She is also suspected of being involved in a honey-trap network that targeted influential people, including politicians. She was recently involved in honey-trapping the son of a senior Jharkhand minister, officers said.Investigators suspect Hamim was part of an ISI-backed module tasked with gathering intelligence on VIPs, including BJP functionaries, recruiting operatives and preparing the ground for possible terror activities in Bengal. He was allegedly recruited by Pakistan-based handlers around four-five months ago and tasked with bringing more men and women into the network. He roped in Arpita, among others.“She helped Hamim develop contacts with influential political figures and collect their personal details. We are examining digital evidence and verifying the exact nature of her role,” an STF officer said.Investigators said that Hamim and his Pakistan-based handlers communicated through WhatsApp, Telegram, Element X and Session. STF officers have identified four Pakistan-based handles – Abir Jat333, Uzair, Rana and Hamad – that were allegedly used to send instructions and assign tasks.“It is suspected that these handles are linked to Pakistan’s Shahzad Bhatti gang. Through them, fundamentalist propaganda was spread and youths were targeted for brainwashing. These Pakistani handles also used SIM cards from Britain and Mexico,” IG Sharma said. “The investigation is still at a very nascent stage, and more persons are likely to be arrested in the coming days,” he added.Police said while Hamim’s ancestral home is in East Burdwan. His father lived in Howrah since 1998 for work.
