Two JMB cadres held in Assam with arms, fake Indian currency

Guwahati, April 30 (IANS) Two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) cadre were arrested in Assam's Dhubri on Friday and firearms and fake Indian currency seized from them, Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said.

Police recovered four firearms and fake Indian currency notes of the face value of Rs 1.02 lakh from the two, who were apprehended in the district bordering Bangladesh and West Bengal.

"In a joint operation with Special Branch, Assam Police and a Central agency, Dhubri police apprehended two neo-JMB cadres from Larkura area under Gauripur police station. One of the cadres was apprehended with 4 firearms and Rs 1.02 lakh in fake Indian currency notes," Mahanta tweeted.

Following the arrests, the Assam Police sought the help of the Muslim community in identifying members of the new module of the extremist JMB.

"In this matter, we appeal to the respected Muslim community and their leaders to come forward and assist us in identifying the other members of this module. We also appeal to them to help us bring all such radicalised elements to the mainstream," the DGP said in a separate tweet.

Talking to the media, Mahanta said that police investigations revealed some Bangladeshi clerics obtain Indian visas ostensibly for the medical treatment in Chennai but violating the visa rules, they visit different parts of Assam to radicalise Muslims in the state.

In 2014, the police had busted a JMB module in Assam's Barpeta, which ranks second after Dhubri in terms of the Muslim population, and arrested more than a dozen people. This module had spread to Baksa district in the same region.

Additional Director General of Police, Special Branch, Hiren Nath said the JMB cadres mingled as ordinary people plying various trades. "These JMB cadres misguide the youths and motivate them to follow the JMB's ideology," he said.

According to the 2011 census, Muslims are majority in six of Assam's 34 districts - Dhubri (79.67), Barpeta (70.74 per cent), Darrang (64.34 per cent), Hailakandi (60.31 per cent), Goalpara (57.52 per cent) and Bongaigaon (50.22 per cent).