Kolkata: The explosion in a house in Khagragarh, Burdwan, has blown the lid off a sleeper cell of a new terror outfit, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). After three days of investigation, the Central agency has zeroed in on the activities of Al Jihad in rural parts of the district, sources revealed.
One man, Shakil Ahmed, a suspected militant, was killed in the October 2 blast, and Hasan Saheb, also a suspected militant, was critically injured. The NIA’s findings came soon after the announcement of a new terror formation, Qaedat Al Jihad, by Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video last month in which he said its purpose was to wage “jihad” in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The agency’s inputs assume significance as Zawahiri’s name and message were mentioned in the militant literature seized from the site of the explosion, sources said. Referring to the contents of the documents, sources said that they were printed in Bengali and were inflammatory in nature. What surprised NIA officials was how quickly Al Jihad’s network had spread without being noticed by the West Bengal police’s intelligence branch (IB).
Meanwhile, Two women were arrested and remanded to police custody for two weeks today in connection with the explosion at Khagragarh here that left two suspected militants dead.
SP S.M.H. Mirza said that the two women — Rajira Bibi alias Rumi hailing from Karimpur in Nadia and Amina Bibi hailing from Lalbagh in Murshidabad were arrested from Khargragarh on Sunday.
