NIA arrests 13 people for links with Bangladesh terror outfit

Image used to represent | Photo credit: The Hindu

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 13 people in connection with a subversive plot by an offshoot of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned terrorist group.

The suspects were arrested during searches at 16 locations in Assam, Kerala and West Bengal, the agency said on Tuesday (29 September 2026). Of the 13 accused, eight were from Assam, four from West Bengal and one from Kerala.

The case stems from the initial arrest of 11 people by the Assam Police on 28 December 2025 from Assam, Tripura and West Bengal. Two days later, the Special Task Force of the Assam Police registered cases against these 11. Subsequently, after another two days, 24 others were also booked through an online radicalization module run through the Purva Akash Telegram group by the Bangladeshi handlers of Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), an offshoot of the JMB.

The NIA investigation revealed the involvement of the accused in the IMK conspiracy to spread the ideology of the terrorist organization in West Bengal and North Eastern states. “The conspiracy involved promoting the terrorist organization’s extremist agenda, radicalizing vulnerable youth and expanding the organization’s network in India,” the agency said in a statement.

The counter-terrorism agency found that a senior member of the JMB, Imam Mahmud Habibullah, had founded the IMK to promote the agenda of the banned outfit on Indian soil.

The NIA also found that the accused conspired to expand the influence of IMK and JMB in India through secret meetings, religious indoctrination programs, dissemination of extremist literature and use of digital platforms for anti-India propaganda.

“Ten accused in the case – nine Bangladeshi nationals and one Indian – remain absconding,” the NIA said.

Manipur arrests

The NIA arrested Thangmang Haokip, 48, of Manipur’s Churachandpur district, in a case related to the IED attack on a house at Tronglaobi Awang Leikai in Moirang, Bishnupur district on April 7. Two children died and another person was injured in the attack.

Haokip is the second person to be arrested in the case after S. Palal Thada Kuki. The latter, arrested on August 12, is in judicial custody.

The NIA produced Haokip before the Special NIA Court-II in Imphal after arresting him on September 25. The court sent him to 12-day police custody.

The NIA also arrested Jangminlun Singson (44) and Thangjoel Haokip (21) from Churachandpur district for their involvement in the ambush of former Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh’s convoy on June 10, 2024. The incident happened near K. Sinampi village in Kang. Two other accused in the case were arrested earlier.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 22:34 IST