NEW DELHI: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) dossier on the Burdwan terror blast reveals Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh’s (JMB) all-female jihadi training centres in Burdwan and Murshidabad areas of West Bengal. According to top officials, these centres started operating in 2011 and recruited women who were trained in bomb-making and violent extremist ideologies.
After raiding the two madrassas and collecting incriminating evidence, NIA officers concluded that Rejara Biwi and Amina Biwi, arrested after the October 2 Burdwan explosion, were also trained in one of these centres. Refusing to divulge more details, officials said a few more madrassas in the bordering areas are under the NIA scanner. “So far, we have been able to link 40 terror modules to the Burdwan blast,” said an officer.
The NIA report further stated that at least 40 ready IEDs were shipped to Bangladesh in four consignments. Investigators, however, were yet to ascertain whether the explosive shipments were moved within the country. A source said the bomb-manufacturing unit was operational for almost three years in the house rented by alleged JMB terrorists for Rs 4,200 a month. The house is owned by a Trinamool Congress supporter.
Sources said a coordinated operation to nab Sheikh Kausar, the Burdwan blast mastermind, who escaped after the blast due to the sloppy work of the West Bengal police, is currently underway. Kausar is believed to have been in Birbhum for three days after the blasts. He went off the radar on October 5.
“There was a major delay on the part of West Bengal police. The same was admitted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval” an official said, adding that the Centre will share the NIA dossier with Bangladesh for a crackdown on JMB modules in the neighbouring country.
As per unconfirmed reports, Kausar may have escaped to Nepal. Security agencies in India are learnt to have received a tip-off on his whereabouts.