KOLKATA: West Bengal Minister of State for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Umesh Rai on Monday claimed that arrested alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative Hamim Mondal had demanded Rs 5 crore from him and knew details about his family.
According to the Special Task Force (STF), Rai and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari were among the alleged targets of the Pakistan-backed terror outfit during the ongoing investigation.
Speaking to reporters, Rai said, “They knew everything about what my wife and son do and other details. And I suspected that someone from my locality might be involved in the move. With arrests of the JeM operatives, it’s now clear about the mastermind.”
Hamim earlier lived in the Pilkhana area of north Howrah before shifting to Bardhaman.
“I hope, some others will also be arrested apart from the accused in the case. No one will be spared as per law,” the minister said. He added, “I was asked to pay Rs 5 crore, which I have never seen. It means that those people who have given information about me to them was wrong. They thought that they would extort the money by threatening me but they failed because of the wrong attempt.”
Recalling the alleged threat call, Rai said, “One day, I got a phone call suddenly and the caller told me to forgive me if I pay him five crore rupees. I responded seeking to know about what wrong I have done with you that you want to forgive me. And five crore rupees for what? And why?”
“He threatened my Chief Minister and me to blow up. I told him okay, let’s see how can you blow us up. Since then, they didn’t contact me but their main target was the Chief Minister,” he added.
Meanwhile, the STF arrested another suspected associate of Hamim from Howrah as part of its investigation into the alleged network.
The accused, identified as Aditya Singh alias Raj alias Raju, was arrested from Belilious Road in north Howrah.
"The arrest was made on the basis of specific leads that emerged during the investigation. We are now focused on identifying others linked to the alleged network," a senior STF officer said.
Investigators suspect Aditya came in contact with Hamim through an online gaming platform and allegedly collected information about Rai and his son, which was shared with the accused.
With Aditya's arrest, three people, including Hamim and Arpita Sarkar, have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The STF has also said Hamim and Arpita allegedly planned to carry out a terror attack during the students' protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Investigators suspect they planned to arrange police uniforms to carry out the operation in disguise.
The STF disclosed the theory during a press conference on Saturday.
Inspector General of Police (STF) Gourav Sharma, however, said he could not confirm whether Hamim had visited Jantar Mantar during the students' protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak.
Arpita Sarkar was arrested from Sahibganj in Jharkhand after Hamim was arrested from Bardhaman in West Bengal. Officials said Arpita, a resident of Barharwa in Sahibganj, was in regular contact with Hamim through WhatsApp, and chats between the two had been recovered during the investigation.