Two suspected IS terrorists nabbed in West Bengal

The suspected Islamic State terrorists were involved in brainwashing local youths towards anti-national activities. They were also in the process of recruiting youths, collecting arms, ammunition and explosives, and raising funds for terror activities.

Kolkata: Two suspected Islamic State terrorists were nabbed in West Bengal, police said on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off from a central investigating agency, a team of Kolkata Police's Special Task Force (STF) arrested the duo in Howrah's Tikiapara area after nabbing them on Vidyasagar Setu, connecting the twin cities, on Friday evening, a senior officer said. "They have been arrested for conspiring to wage war against the Government of India and overthrow it to establish a caliphate by means of terror attacks and propagation of fundamentalism and hatred in the society. "The duo was involved in spreading the tentacles of the terror outfit in Howrah. We are questioning them to understand more about their roles," the police officer told PTI. One of the two arrested persons is an MTech engineering student and a resident of Aftabuddin Munshi Lane in Tikiapara, while another is from Shibpur in Howrah, he said. They were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan and West Asia, the officer said.

"The duo was involved in brainwashing local youths towards anti-national activities. They were also in the process of recruiting youths, collecting arms, ammunition and explosives, and raising funds for terror activities," he said.

"They were promoting anti-national activities and radicalism on social media. They used videos of explosions and killings to incite anti-national sentiments among youths. Several youths seem to have fallen into their trap," the officer said.

Two persons - Md. Saddam and Sayeed Ahmed - have been arrested from the eastern slope of Vidyasagar Sethu, Kolkata for recruiting young Muslim youths and collecting arms ammunition and explosives and to raise funds for terror: West Bengal STF pic.twitter.com/lSRuHQA3Bb

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Several documents, laptops, mobile phones, hard drives, pen drives, CPU, notebook, diary, debit cards and a motorcycle were seized from their possession on Friday, he said. The duo was produced before a court, which remanded them to 12 days in police custody.