84 alleged jihadis arrested in Assam since 2016: Govt
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma provided the arrest details of the alleged jihadis while replying to a question by leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia in the state assembly
The Assam government on Monday informed the assembly that 84 persons have been arrested in the state since May 2016, when the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government was formed, for alleged jihadi activities.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, provided the details of the arrests while replying to a question by leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia on the first day of the autumn session.
Of those arrested, 35 were from Jamat Ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), 9 from Hijbul Mujahideen (HM) and 40 others from Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT)—all three terror groups based in Bangladesh.
The government told the assembly that of those arrested, 10 including a Bangladeshi national Saiful Islam alias Mohammed Suman were connected to madrasas in some way or other.
“These people used to deliver speeches in madrasas and mosques with jihadi links and in religious gatherings where they incited people to take part in jihad and distribute jihadi literature. Till date, no one has been injured or killed in Assam due to jihadi activities,” Sarma said in his reply.
He added that investigation and court cases against all the 84 alleged jihadis are pending. The Centre has been informed about the jihadi activities and there has been no specific instruction from New Delhi till date.
“The government says madrasas in Assam are becoming hotbeds of jihadi activities. But only 10 of those arrested till date for such activities have links with madrasas,” said leader of Opposition and Congress legislator Debabrata Saikia.
In a related development, two more persons were arrested for alleged jihadi activities by the Morigaon district police on Sunday. The duo is alleged to have links with Mufti Mustafa, administrator of a madrasa who was arrested last month. The madrasa was razed by the government for being unsafe.
“In October 2021, jihadi training was imparted in Morigaon by a Bangladeshi national and Mufti Mustafa had facilitated it. Five persons attended the training. While three of them were arrested earlier in Barpeta district, we nabbed two more on Sunday. One of them is an imam of a mosque while the other was related to Mustafa,” Morigaon police superintendent N Aparna said.
