Guwahati: Two persons were arrested from Assam’s Barpeta district on Wednesday for their alleged links with fundamentalist groups, officials said. The arrests were made during a late-night operation conducted by the Special Task Force (STF) in the Sorbhog police station area.
According to officials at the Assam Police headquarters, the suspects were apprehended on Tuesday night following specific intelligence inputs. “Two suspected jihadis have been arrested from Barpeta. Their interrogation is underway and further details will be shared later,” a senior police officer said.
Police sources said the accused were allegedly found in possession of Pakistani SIM cards, which are being examined as part of the ongoing investigation. One of the arrested persons have been identified as Sahidul Islam. Both suspects have been taken to Guwahati for further interrogation.
A Barpeta district official said the operation was carried out in coordination with the local police. However, some details of the case could not be independently verified at the time of filing this report.
The arrests come amid heightened security vigilance in Assam following earlier crackdowns on suspected extremist networks operating in the region.
In January this year, the arrest of 11 alleged members of the extremist outfit Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) had pointed to a wider cross-border network with links to Bangladesh and West Bengal. The group is believed to be an offshoot of the Bangladesh-based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Investigators had said the network used encrypted social media platforms to circulate radical literature, spread extremist propaganda and recruit youths. A Telegram group named “Purba Akash” was reportedly used to communicate with potential recruits, particularly in districts such as Barpeta and Chirang.
Preliminary findings had also suggested that some recruits from Assam travelled to Bangladesh for training, while clandestine meetings were held to indoctrinate local youths and encourage support for extremist ideologies.
Further details regarding the latest arrests are awaited as interrogation of the suspects continues.