JMB's Hindu associate spills the beans on human trafficking

Kolkata, July 17 (IANS) A Hindu associate of the Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has spilled the beans on the terror group's human trafficking operations on the India-Bangladesh border.

Lalu Sen, alias Rahul Sen or Rahul Kumar, was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police from his residence in Barasat Municipality area in the North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday night.

He is a close associate of the three JMB terrorists arrested from south Kolkata on Sunday, a senior police officers said.

Now Sen, said to be married to a Muslim lawyer in Bangladesh, has admitted to be involved in a human trafficking ring run by the Neo-JMB to raise funds.

"The Neo-JMB is desperately short of funds and going to the extent of running a human trafficking racket to make money," he told central intelligence interrogators after arrest.

"The trafficking ring also helps the group move its own activists across the India-Bangladesh border easily."

A West Bengal Police officer said that "two laptops, an iPad, two mobile phones, and some incriminating documents were seized from Sen's possession".

"He is a close associate of Naziur Rehman alias Jayram Byapari," the officer said, adding that Sen helped JMB terrorists with logistical and financial support for a big cut.

"He used to provide financial support to the terror organisation through ‘Hundi' channel."

Sen was also forging fake documents such as voter identity cards, PAN cards and Aadhaar cards for the terrorists to secure cover in India.

The Kolkata Police STF arrested JMB operatives Najiur Rahman, Rabiul Islam and Sabir from Haridevpur area in south Kolkata on Sunday.

The three terrorists had come from Bangladesh to Kolkata a few months ago and living in a rented room in the middle-class neighbourhood.

It is suspected that they were setting up terror modules in West Bengal to support operations in Bangladesh.

"They also possibly planned kidnapping rich Bangladeshis coming to India for fat ransoms," the police officer said.

A number of JMB operatives, including Indians, have been arrested in West Bengal in the past few years.

The JMB, which carried out a terror attack at a popular cafe in Dhaka in 2016 in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed, is trying to spread its tentacles in India, according to the NIA.

A senior NIA official said huge pressure on the Neo-JMB network by Bangladesh security forces was forcing them to flee to India and set up support networks here .

"They have to survive a fierce crackdown by the Sheikh Hasina government which is determined to wipe them out," he told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The arrested Neo-JMB activists have told central intelligence interrogators that "getting arrested in India was safer because security forces in Bangladesh just liquidate us after torturing us for information".

Bangladesh denies allegation of torture and extra-judicial killings but human rights groups have levelled such allegations regularly.

But the arrested Neo-JMB activists have pleaded with interrogators not to send them back to Bangladesh because they fear death and torture.