New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested 13 accused persons after conducting searches at 16 locations across Assam, West Bengal and Kerala in connection with a terror conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by an offshoot of the proscribed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The searches resulted in the seizure of digital devices, including mobile phones, pen drives and memory cards. Of the 13 accused arrested, eight were taken into custody from Assam, four from West Bengal and one from Kerala.
The case stems from the arrest of 11 accused by the Assam Police on December 28, 2025, from various districts of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura. The STF had registered Case No. 06/2025 on December 30, 2025, against 35 accused in connection with an online radicalisation module allegedly operated through the “Purva Akash” Telegram group by Bangladesh-based handlers of Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK).
The 11 accused were chargesheeted on June 25, 2026, and remain in judicial custody. The NIA subsequently took over the investigation and filed a chargesheet against them under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act before the NIA Special Court in Guwahati.
According to the NIA investigation, the accused were allegedly involved in a conspiracy by IMK, described as a manifestation of JMB, to expand the outfit’s ideology and network in West Bengal and the northeastern states.
The investigation found that the alleged conspiracy involved promoting the terrorist organisation’s extremist agenda, radicalising vulnerable youth and expanding its network in India.
The anti-terror agency further stated that JMB senior member Imam Mahmud Habibullah had established IMK to promote the banned outfit’s agenda on Indian soil.
The NIA said the accused allegedly sought to strengthen the presence of IMK/JMB through clandestine meetings, religious indoctrination programmes, circulation of extremist literature and digital platforms for anti-India propaganda. They were also allegedly promoting allegiance to the leadership of IMK/JMB.
Ten accused persons remain absconding, including one Indian national and nine Bangladeshi nationals. The investigation in case RC-01/2026/NIA/GUW is continuing.
