Bengal new terror haven? Fourth Bangladeshi national with Al-Qaeda links arrested in Kolkata

Sahadat Hossain, 26, allegedly charged a fee of Rs 5000 to crossover India – Bangladesh border

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KOLKATA: A fourth Bangladeshi national with suspected Al-Qaeda links has been arrested by  Kolkata Police Special Task Force near Sealdah station on Friday. This comes days after three persons, including two suspected members of Bangladesh-based Islamist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), were arrested on Tuesday from the Kolkata railway station.

The arrested person has been identified as Sahadat Hossain, 26, a resident of Benapole port, Bangladesh. 

The development came after the two ABT operatives, arrested on November 21, admitted that they had illegally infiltrated into the Indian territory from the Bangladesh border. 

Hossain allegedly charged a fee of Rs 5000 to crossover India – Bangladesh border. Sources in the Kolkata STF said that he would also ask for aadhaar card and voter id and would often fix a hotel or lodge or a place to stay. He also helped them procure SIM cards besides documents.

Officers of the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police arrested one more suspected member of banned Bangladeshi group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), also called Ansar Bangla, on Friday.

The police are on the lookout for two more persons — Shopon Biswas alias Sajol Ahmed alias Moon alias Tamim (23) and Nayan Gazi (28) alias Zafor alias Safik alias Saiful alias Ariful Gazi.

"We are now looking for Gazi. Both Gazi and Biswas are ABT members and had put up at a hotel in Howrah in the first week of October. They may be taking shelter anywhere in India and if anyone gives any lead, will be rewarded suitably," said Murlidhar Sharma, deputy commissioner (STF) told DNA.

ABT, which has direct links with Al-Qaeda network in the Indian subcontinent, is responsible for the brutal attacks and murder of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh between 2013 and 2015. The outfit is banned in Bangladesh.

The third man arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police on November 21 is a local arms dealer. 

The BJP has often alleged that the Trinamool Congress's appeasement politics has turned West Bengal into “jihadi terror hub” providing “safe haven for terrorists and extortionists”.