A Special Task Force of the Kolkata police arrested a person suspected to be a terror operative of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh from Chennai on Tuesday. 

35-year-old Asadullah SK, alias Raja, who is a native of West Bengal’s Purna Burdwan district, was arrested from Chennai’s Neelankarai, where had been allegedly hiding. The accused, who was living in a rented house in Neelankarai, was caught based on a tip-off. Following a joint police raid in the area, Raja’s hideout was exposed and he was arrested, reports state. 

The accused is suspected to be an active member of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. JMB is a banned Islamist terrorist outfit operating from Bangladesh. It is recognised as a terror outfit by many countries, including the United Kingdom. The aim of the outfit is to replace the government of Bangladesh with Islamic rule based on the Sharia law.

During the raid on Tuesday, the police seized several documents and Raja’s mobile phone as evidence. The police are also investigating if the suspect has been involved in plotting any terror activities in the city or the state. Raja has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and will be produced before a court in Chennai’s Alandur for his transit remand, reports add.

On August 21, Coimbatore was under high alert after the police received an intelligence report that six Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants - including five Tamil Muslims and one suspected Pakistani national - had entered Tamil Nadu via Sri Lanka. 

Surveillance was increased in the entire district of Coimbatore, with the police undertaking random vehicle checks. There was an increase in the deployment of the police force in crowded and public places such as bus stands, railways stations etc.

By August 27, the number of security and police officials was gradually relaxed in the district. The police, however, could not track down the suspected operatives indicated in the intelligence report.