BURDWAN: A suspected member of the banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been arrested in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, news agency PTI reported on Friday.The Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal police arrested Hamid Mondal from his rented accommodation in a housing complex in Burdwan town late on Thursday night.As per the PTI report, Hamid Mondal had been staying in the flat for the past two to three months, allegedly to evade detection by law enforcement agencies.Materials recovered from his mobile phone and other documents suggested that he was collecting information on chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, prompting police to examine whether he was planning an attack, police said.Police said Hamid is suspected to be associated with the Pakistan-based banned terror group JeM and is believed to be a close associate of Sajjad Bhat, who is alleged to be one of the masterminds of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.A suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad had rammed his explosive-laden car into a bus ferrying Central Reserve Police Force personnel on February 14, 2019, in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans.Hamid was produced before a court in Burdwan on Friday.Neighbouring flat owners, however, said the man had been living in the rented accommodation for about one and a half years with his family.BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar alleged that West Bengal had for decades been a “safe corridor” for radical Islamist groups during the 34 years of Left Front rule and 15 years of the TMC government.But militants no longer consider the state a safe haven due to a “change in the state’s ideology”, he claimed.He said radical groups were now attempting retaliatory attacks against political leaders who had taken a strong stand against extremist activities.
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(With agency inputs)
