Guwahati: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an accused from West Bengal in connection with a terror conspiracy orchestrated by an offshoot of the proscribed terrorist organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the agency said on Sunday.The arrest came days after the agency arrested 13 accused on Sept 29 following searches at 16 locations across Assam, West Bengal and Kerala in connection with the same conspiracy.NIA in a media statement stated that several digital devices, including mobile phones and memory cards, were seized from the accused.The NIA had filed a chargesheet against 11 accused before the NIA Special Court in Guwahati on June 25 under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.The central investigating agency stated that the investigation has revealed that the accused were involved in a conspiracy hatched by Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), an offshoot of JMB, to spread the banned outfit’s extremist ideology and expand its terrorist network in West Bengal and the northeastern states.The conspiracy involved the radicalisation of vulnerable youth, the propagation of extremist ideology and the recruitment of individuals into the organisation. The investigation has also revealed that Imam Mahmud Habibullah, a senior JMB member, had established IMK to promote the banned organisation’s agenda in India.The accused allegedly conspired to expand the activities of IMK and JMB through clandestine meetings, religious indoctrination programmes, circulation of extremist literature and the misuse of digital platforms for radicalisation and dissemination of anti-India propaganda. They also sought to promote allegiance to the leadership of IMK and JMB and strengthen the organisation’s network in India.The agency stated that further investigation into the case registered at the NIA police station in Guwahati is underway.
