Guwahati, Sept 30: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday night welcomed a major National Investigation Agency (NIA) operation that led to the arrest of 13 persons linked to an offshoot of the banned Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), describing it as a significant blow to the jihadi nexus.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister wrote: “A very significant operation carried out by @NIA_India today to secure our nation and break the Jihadi nexus. Assam stands shoulder to shoulder with the Centre in this fight to eliminate terrorism from our country.”
The NIA had earlier announced the arrests in a case involving a terror conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), described as a manifestation of the proscribed JMB. The agency conducted searches at 16 locations across Assam, West Bengal and Kerala, seizing digital devices including mobile phones, pen drives and memory cards.
Of the 13 arrested, eight were from Assam (including six from Barpeta district), four from West Bengal and one from Kerala. The operation is linked to an earlier case registered by Assam Police’s Special Task Force in December 2025, which involved an online radicalisation module operated through the “Purva Akash” Telegram group by Bangladesh-based handlers.
The accused are alleged to have been involved in promoting extremist ideology, radicalising youth and expanding the outfit’s network in West Bengal and the northeastern states through clandestine meetings, religious indoctrination and digital platforms.
Chief Minister Sarma’s statement underscores the Assam government’s continued cooperation with central agencies in counter-terror efforts, particularly in dealing with cross-border radicalisation threats from Bangladesh.
