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Delhi blasts : Terrorist links in Assam |
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Preliminary investigations into the Delhi blasts which killed over 60 people on October 29, reveal that a detained suspect is a wanted criminal from Assam having links with over a dozen Islamic fundamentalist militant groups.
According to reports, the suspect, Moinul Haque, who was rounded up along with a few others, is the same man who had been arrested after a blast in Dhubri district on May 21 last year. When he jumped bail, Assam police allegedly did not take it too seriously because they had no clue about his ‘jehadi links’.
Security forces in the state were, however, quick to shift the focus of operations to fundamentalist militant groups after Delhi police contacted their Assam counterparts for information on Moinul.
Dispur has since flashed alerts to all police stations to compile lists of criminals with ‘a fundamentalist background’.
Dhubri police had identified Moinul as an activist of the Islamic United Reformation Protest of India, but it transpired that he was a key member of a bigger network with 29 fundamentalist militant groups operating in the North-east.
‘We are in touch with Delhi police for more details,’ Dhubri additional superintendent of police Moslemuddin Ahmed said.
An intelligence official said Moinul was based in Assam for a long time. ‘We have information that he chaired a number of co-ordination meetings of these fundamentalist militant groups and exhorted them to operate as a cohesive unit.’
The police raided Moinul’s house at Jhagrarpar-I village of Dhubri district, but found no incriminating evidence.
The Union Home Ministry has alerted Dispur to the existence of an ISI-controlled terror network on several occasions. The Ministry’s communique after the Delhi blasts mentioned Guwahati as the north-eastern city most susceptible to a terror attack.
‘According to intelligence available with the Ministry, Assam is emerging as a strong ISI base and several fundamentalist groups backed by it are active in the state,’ a senior government official said, quoting the Home Ministry’s latest communique.
He admitted that by focusing on the ULFA, the police and security forces had allowed such fundamentalist militant groups to quietly expand their bases.
‘Our planning all these years was ULFA-centric. But we now have to give much more attention to fundamentalist groups like the Muslim Liberation Tigers of Assam, the Islamic United Reformation Protest of India and the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami,’ a police official said.
On the police’ most-wanted list of fundamentalist operatives are Maulana Maqbul Hussain, alias Zuber, and Firdaus of the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami, and Jabbar Ali of the Islamic United Reformation Protest of India. The trio is from Dhubri district.
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