New Delhi: The anti-terrorist squad of Madhya Pradesh arrested four persons allegedly associated with the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bhopal, state home minister Narottam Mishra said on Sunday.
The four arrested have been identified as Azhar Ali alias Mehmood (32), Mohammad Akeel alias Ahmed (24), Zahoor-uddin alias Ibrahim (28) and Azhar-jainul Abdeen alias Akram Al Hassan.
Police have seized Jihadi literature and electronic devices from the arrested persons, Mishra said, adding that the organisation has been banned in India since 2019 after it was found to be involved in the Bodh Gaya blast in Bihar.
According to police sources, the arrests were made from a spot, some 200 metres away from a police station in Aishbagh as well as another area in the district.
Police also said that the four were arrested after they could not give any convincing reply on the purpose of their visit to Bhopal.
“The four had been living in Bhopal for the past two months but could not come up with a convincing answer on why they had come to the city,” said a senior police officer as quoted by The Indian Express.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad further said that the four were affiliated to the banned JMB and were working to establish a remote-based sleeper cell which could be used to commit serious anti-national activities.
It also said that after it was banned, the JMB has been trying to develop sleeper cells across the country.
DIG (Intelligence) Dr Ashish, as quoted by The Indian Express, said, “We have arrested the four based on our inputs and prima facie they appear to be Bangladeshi nationals. We are investigating the matter.”