The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at two locations in Uttar Pradesh in the Bhopal terror funding case involving the proscribed organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The raids, conducted on Wednesday, were aimed at exposing further the links and conspiracies of the 10 already arrested accused who have been charge-sheeted in the case by the NIA court.
“Six of the arrested accused are Bangladeshi nationals and are active JMB cadre,” the NIA said, adding that they had entered India illegally without any valid document, and had acquired false and forged Indian identity documents with the help of their sympathisers in India.
“Wednesday’s searches at the premises of various suspects led to the seizure of several digital devices (mobile phones), SIM cards, bank passbooks and identity documents. The documents, currently under examination, relate to suspicious transactions related to the transfer of funds by the accused,” the NIA said.
The NIA investigations have revealed that all the 10 arrested accused were involved in influencing, radicalising and motivating vulnerable Indian Muslim youth to take up violent jihad against the democratic system of governance in the country.
“They had been circulating incriminating jihadi literature, inflammatory videos and statements and endorsing, justifying and glorifying the terrorist acts of the various banned terrorist organisations, including JMB, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban,” the anti-terror agency said.
“They were conspiring to align with terrorist organisations to achieve their ultimate goal of establishing a Sharia-based Islamic rule in India through the pursuit of ‘violent jihad,” the NIA said, adding that they had grand plans of creating a pan-India network to pursue their objective and, along with their co-accused, had successfully established bases in various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, West Bengal and Assam.
The NIA registered the case on April 5 last year under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Foreigners Act of 1946. It was initially registered on March 14 last year by Bhopal Police in the wake of the arrest of six active cadres of JMB from their rented house in the city.
“A cache of jihadi literature, digital devices, printer, paper cutting and bookbinding machines and other material were also seized from the house,” the agency said.
Given the ramifications of the case and developments for national security, the NIA had subsequently taken over the investigation and arrested four more accused.
