Wanted JMB leader arrested in West Bengal

Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force on Friday arrested a top Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader Abdul Karim in West Bengal.

Abdul Karim, alias Boro Karim, was arrested from an area under the jurisdiction of Suti police station of Murshidabad, reports ANI.

The accused was scheduled to be produced before a court on Friday.

Abdul was leading the Dhuliyan module of the banned militant outfit. He reportedly supplied logistics, support, and provided shelter to top leaders such as Saleuddin, ANI quoted the police as saying.

"In 2018, we have seized a substantial quantity of explosives and jihadi material from his house during a sudden raid but he escaped and we had been trying to arrest him since,'' the Kolkata STF said.

His name was also mentioned as the main operative by the JMB terrorists arrested in Bangladesh during their interrogation. He was one of the top three wanted JMB terrorists in India, among its head Saauddin Salaeih.

An Indian Home Ministry report had stated that it had received “some inputs of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh using some madrassas in Burdwan and Murshidabad for radicalization and recruitment activities.” 

The accused Abdul Karim, an Indian national, is said to have a connection in the 2018 Bodh Gaya blast case.

However, Abdul has not been named in the National Investigative Agency (NIA) charge sheet in the Bodh Gaya case, though he has been under the scanner. Five persons were arrested by the NIA in connection with the case.

The blast dates back to January 2018 when a low-intensity bomb exploded in Bodh Gaya in Bihar a few hours after Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s sermon at the Mahabodhi temple.