Guwahati: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has enlisted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to find the module after receiving information of a well-established network run by Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in various districts of Assam.
The NIA’s First Information Report (FIR) states that the AQIS module was “active in different districts of Assam” and had ties to the terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team, which is based in Bangladesh (ABT).
According to reports, AQIS, a branch of the outlawed terrorist group Al-Qaeda, is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, and Bangladesh. It was founded in 2014. The gang wants to carry out jihad to create an Islamic state.
As per the FIR, the objective of the module is to “propagate terror in Indian territory, radicalize likeminded youth and carry out recruitment to wage war against the Union of India, with a view to overthrow the democratically elected government by establishing the ‘Rule of Khilafat’ (Sharia Law) in India as well as to wage war against Bangladesh, an Asiatic neighbour on friendly terms with India and to implement ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, with the help of recruits of India”.
The actions follow Indian authorities’ destruction of two madrassas in Assam for reportedly engaging in “jihadi” activities on their property a few days prior.
One madrassa in the Barpeta district was destroyed on August 29, as it was claimed to be used as a training hub by AQIS, and the other in the Bongaigaon district was demolished on August 31. A week earlier, a teacher from the Bongaigaon madrassa was arrested on suspicion of links with AQIS.
A module of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was reportedly operating in several Assamese districts, including Goalpara.
The NIA launched an investigation into a case that was initially reported to Matia Police Station in Assam’s Goalpara district on August 20. The NIA re-registered the case with charges brought under sections 18, 18B, 19, and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as sections 120B, 121, and 121 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on September 26 of this year.
The anti-terror agency filed the case and began an investigation into the situation following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) dated September 23.
It was learnt that one Jalaluddin Sheikh, 49, a resident of Gopalpur Tilapara village; Abdus Subhan,43, a resident of Rakhyasini village from Goalpara district, and others were involved in banned activities of waging war against the Union of India by indoctrinating minds of various people.
After being questioned extensively, both admitted that the organization’s goal was to spread terror on Indian soil, radicalise youths, and conduct a regular recruitment drive to fight India in order to implement “Ghazwa-e-Hind” and the “Rule of Khilafat” (Sharia law) in India as well as to fight Bangladesh.
The Central Government instructed the NIA to begin an investigation of the case in accordance with the powers granted under subsection (5) of section 6 read with section 8 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, taking into account the seriousness of the offence and the potential interstate and international repercussions.