2 ‘JMB militants’ held in India

Two Bangladesh nationals, suspected to be members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), have been arrested by law enforcers in a joint operation in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted the operation with the West Bengal state police on yesterday, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The arrestees were identified as Musharraf alias Musa and Rubel Ahmed, both Bangladeshi nationals, Uttar Pradesh's Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh told reporters in Lucknow, capital city of the state.

Acting on a tip-off, Uttar Pradesh ATS and a team of West Bengal police conducted a drive at Surajpur Police Station area in Greater Noida on Monday and arrested the duo, said Greater Noida (renamed Gautam Buddha Nagar) district SSP Ajay Pal Sharma.

The arrestees were taken for interrogation by officials of the UP ATS and the intelligence department, he said.

 According to Sharma, the two JMB members were planning to carry out a major terror strike in the National Capital Region (NCR).

 Singh said both were active members of the JMB and they would be taken by West Bengal police on transit remand for further interrogation.

"A team of UP ATS will interrogate Musa and Rubel," he said.

Earlier, three Bangladeshi youths, suspected to have links with Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), were arrested in Lucknow in September last year by the UP ATS.

Mohammad Imran, Rajiuddin and Mohammad Firdaus, who were brothers, were apprehended while boarding the Howrah-Amritsar Express train, officials said. The names of the three came out after an ATS team arrested a suspected Bangladeshi terrorist Abdullah, associated with the ABT, from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. 

UP ATS officials had earlier said Abdullah was associated with the ABT and was allegedly involved in preparing fake identities for terrorists, especially for those from Bangladesh, with the help of one Faizan who lived in Deoband (Saharanpur) in UP.

Members of the ABT  have been implicated in crimes, including some brutal attacks and murders of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh.