Guwahati, Dec 30: Assam Police have busted a major jihadi module operating in the state and arrested 11 persons for their alleged involvement in extremist and terror-related activities.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Nasim Uddin alias Najimuddin alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22), Md Dilbar Razak (26) and Jagir Miah (33).
Security and intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring jihadi activities in Northeast India, with particular focus on Assam. Acting on inputs and analysis shared by central intelligence agencies, Assam Police detected the activities of the Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) module.
IMK is a Bangladesh-based offshoot of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which is a banned terrorist organisation in India. The group was founded in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud alias Imam Mahmud Habibullah alias Sohail, a former JMB member who claims to be the ‘Amir’ of IMK and propagates the ideology of “Ghazwatul Hind”.
Investigators have learnt that following the regime change in Bangladesh in August 2024, senior leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent directed IMK leadership to activate and expand its modules in India.
As part of this expansion, two Bangladeshi nationals — Umar and Khalid — were tasked with coordinating IMK activities in Assam. These operations were carried out using secure and encrypted social media platforms.
One such platform, a group titled ‘Purva Akash’, functioned as a key communication, recruitment and radicalisation channel. Through this group, individuals in Assam, West Bengal and Tripura were allegedly radicalised, recruited, financially mobilised and linked to the outfit. This included Indian passport holders with prior visits to Bangladesh and former members of proscribed terrorist organisations.
Investigators said IMK projects itself as a Ghazwatul Hind–centric extremist module and promotes an ideology aligned with banned transnational jihadi organisations. Following the change of government in Bangladesh, cadres of JMB, ABT and AQIS were reportedly emboldened, leading to a revival of their ideological influence and Indian networks through IMK-linked platforms.
The group is alleged to have disseminated extremist propaganda advocating violent jihad and armed conquest of India through digital platforms, including dedicated websites and social media pages under the Ghazwatul Hind banner. Radical literature authored by IMK leadership — including ‘Sarbobhoumo Khamatar Malik Allah’ and ‘Ghazwatul Hind er Sonkhipto Alochona’ — was systematically circulated online to indoctrinate cadres and sympathisers.
In Assam, such content was shared primarily through the encrypted platform ‘Purba Akash’, police said.
A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 150, 152 and 113(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 10, 13, 16, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify additional links and networks connected to the IMK module.
