NIA Tracks West Bengal Youths Allegedly Brainwashed by Arrested JMB Associates

The development comes after the NIA arrested four suspected JMB associates from East Burdwan and South 24 Parganas districts on Tuesday. Investigators reportedly recovered documents containing the names of youths from different parts of West Bengal who were allegedly in regular contact with the arrested individuals.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the suspected JMB associates allegedly used a two-stage process to identify and approach youths who could be influenced into joining or assisting the outfit.

Investigators found that the first stage involved disseminating JMB-related messages through a Telegram channel named “Purba Akash”. Those who showed a favourable response were subsequently contacted individually or in small groups by the alleged associates and subjected to further ideological indoctrination, sources said.

Once the alleged recruitment process progressed, the shortlisted youths were reportedly contacted through encrypted messaging platforms and instructed on activities including establishing networks and carrying out sabotage operations in different parts of the country.

The NIA also suspects that the arrested individuals had established a crowdfunding mechanism to raise money. Multiple mobile phones, SIM cards and jihadi literature were among the items reportedly seized during the searches.

The agency first arrested Piar Mohammad Sheikh, an imam associated with a mosque in Palishgram village under Mangalkot police station in East Burdwan, on Tuesday on suspicion of links with the banned militant outfit.

Later, three more suspects, identified as Jumman Sheikh, Shahrul Purrkait and Abdul Rafiq, were arrested from South 24 Parganas. Jumman Sheikh was taken into custody from Mithapukur, Shahrul Purrkait from Balarampur and Abdul Rafiq from Narendrapur, according to officials.

The NIA also searched the residence of another alleged JMB associate, Mujibur Rahman, at Banshihari-Kushkari village in South Dinajpur district. However, Rahman was not present at the time of the operation and remains untraced.

The arrests followed coordinated raids carried out by multiple NIA teams across West Bengal on Tuesday morning as part of the agency's ongoing investigation into alleged JMB sleeper cells operating in the state. The agency is now examining the material seized during the searches and is working to identify other individuals who may have been in contact with the arrested suspects.