Madarsa link in blast case
- Bengal cradle for 5 Assam accused
Guwahati, Dec. 18: Five of the 11 persons arrested by Assam police in connection with the Burdwan blast case had undergone training in the use of arms and making of bombs at two madarsas in Bengal, cabinet minister Rakibul Hussain told the Assembly today.
Speaking during zero hour on behalf of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who holds the home portfolio, Hussain said, "Among those arrested in the case, five persons, including Sahanur Alom and his wife Sujina Begum, studied at Shimulia madarsa in Burdwan and Mukimnagar mada-rsa in Murshidabad in Bengal where they were also trained in the use of arms and bomb-making."
The remaining six arrested accused were supporters and linkmen of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), he added.
Hussain was replying to a question raised by suspended AGP legislator Padma Hazarika.
The minister said a case (number 1/2014) was registered against these accused by the special operations unit of the special branch of Assam police under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
According to Assam police, one of the arrested, Shaikhul Islam alias Abdulla, an important member of the JMB module in Assam, had also undergone training in these two madarsas.
Abdulla was an associate of Shakil Ahmed alias Shamin, a JMB activist who died in the blast in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan in October this year.
Ahmed used to visit Barpeta under the cover of running a garment business to motivate Muslims in the name of pan-Islamism.
The police said Abdulla had instructions to remain a sleeper cell, to look for potential recruits among Muslims and motivate them to join religious extremism.
Hussain said Sahanur had told interrogators that he didn't have any link with any politician or political party. There had been reports that Sahanur knew a former minister and three MLAs, including one from the Barak Valley.
AGP legislator Hazarika expressed deep concern over the rise of religious extremism in the state and urged the state government to take strong action against these forces. He said action should be taken against anybody found to have links with religious extremism, no matter how powerful or politically influential he or she might be.
Hussain said it had come to light that from the end of 2011, some JMB leaders from Bengal had been visiting certain parts of Assam, including Barpeta and Nalbari districts, to try and convince people from the minority community that they needed an armed organisation to protect their lives and property.
Madarsa link in blast case