Arrested Terror Suspect Planned to Infiltrate Delhi Protest, Says West Bengal STF
The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) on Saturday said that a terror suspect arrested a day earlier had planned to infiltrate a student protest in Delhi and carry out subversive activities. The suspect, identified as Hamim Mondal, was arrested on Friday by a six-member STF team and has been remanded to 14 days of police custody.
According to STF Inspector-General Gaurav Sharma, Pakistani outfits had instructed Mondal to arrange a police uniform and blend into the recent student protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The aim, he alleged, was to incite violence and create chaos. The STF also said it had arrested Mondal's associate, Arpita Sarkar, from Sahebganj in Jharkhand, who has been transferred to Kolkata for further questioning.
Sharma told media persons that Mondal was also tasked with tracking the movements of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to identify security vulnerabilities. He alleged that Mondal had been in contact with multiple Pakistan-based organisations, including the Shehzad Bhatti gang, and that he had been radicalised through propaganda.
“Hamim had relationships with multiple Pakistani outfits. There are many more on our radar who we are yet to arrest,” Sharma said, describing the case as one of brainwashing and radical indoctrination.
The police have recovered electronic gadgets and documents from the suspects and are analysing them. Officials said they were also examining bank account transactions and encrypted messages to ascertain the scale of the conspiracy and any other targets.
In a related development, the STF alleged that Mondal had been using Sarkar to honey-trap and potentially abduct a state minister's son from Howrah. The police said they received intelligence about this plan, which led them to track the duo and eventually make the arrests.
The arrests have prompted a strong response from the West Bengal government. Minister Shankar Ghosh said, “West Bengal has become the haven of terrorism, and our police force and our Chief Minister have already stated that we will crack down on all kinds of nuisance, terrorism, and criminals.”
The investigation is ongoing, with the STF stating that more arrests are likely. The development comes amid heightened security concerns across the country, with law enforcement agencies working to pre-empt terror modules and disrupt potential attacks.
