Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has busted a network of banned terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), with the arrest of three Bangladeshi nationals from Pune’s Wanwadi locality.
The three arrested Bangladeshi nationals linked to Ansar Bangla — as ABT is also known as — were on Saturday produced before a Thane court which remanded in police custody till March 29.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested Bangladeshi nationals had close links with the militant Sunni Islamic multi-national outfit Al Qaeda. In fact, ABT is considered frontal organisation of Al Qaeda.
Acting a tip-off that members linked to the ABT were staying in and around Pune, the Maharashtra ATS personnel – who keep a close tab on the illegal foreign migrants — conducted raids at several places in and around Wanwadi and Akurdi. During their raids, they arrested a Bangladeshi national. His interrogation led to the arrest to two more illegal Bangladeshis holed up in Wanwadi.
All three arrested Bangladeshi nationals did not possess valid travel documents, The investigators also seized forged documents like PAN and Aadhar cards.
Two of the arrested Bangladeshis aged 31 and 25, are residents of Satani Pushkali of Khulna district of Bangladesh, while another 25-year-old ABT functionary hails from Birajikundi from Shariyatpur.
The three Bangladeshi nationals have been booked for offences registered under section 19, 20 UAPA Act 1967 revised in 2008, Section 465, 467, 468, 471 IPC and sections 3,6 Passport( Entry Into India) Rules 1955 read with Para 3(1) Foreigners Order 1948 read with section 14 Foreigners Act 1946. This is for the first time that Bangladeshi nationals owing allegiance to ABT have been arrested from Pune. Earlier, ABT members had been arrested from Kolkata and other places of West Bengal.
The ABT is an Islamic extremist organisation in Bangladesh. They have allegedly had a role to play in crimes including some brutal attacks and murders of atheist bloggers from 2013 to 2015 and a bank heist in April 2015.
The arrest of three ABT members comes on the heels of five Bangladeshi nationals from Panvel town in Raigad district early this week.