5 Years After Burdwan Blast, Terror Suspect Arrested In Madhya Pradesh

An accused in the October 2014 Burdwan blast has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Indore's Azad Nagar locality, officials said on Tuesday.

The NIA has described 31-year-old Jahirul Shaikh, a resident of Hayeterapara village under Thanarpara police station area of West Bengal's Nadia district, as a member of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror group. According to sources, he worked as a painter and owned a Tata Nano car. His vehicle has also been seized by the NIA.

The case involves an explosion at a house in Khagragarh locality of West Bengal's Burdwan on October 2, 2014. Two suspected terrorists were killed and a third one injured in the incident.

Jahirul Shaikh was produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Indore, which granted officials with the anti-terror agency a transit remand allowing them to produce him before the Special NIA Cases Court in Kolkata. Deputy Inspector General of Police Ruchi Vardhan confirmed the arrest, which occurred just days before Independence Day.

The accused, who is said to be a senior member of the JMB's Nadia module in West Bengal, had allegedly attended a number of training camps of the terror group. The NIA says he was also involved in activities aimed at furthering the JMB's cause in India.

Jahirul Shaikh - who is among the 33 people charged in the 2014 Burdwan blasts case - allegedly worked as a car driver at the Simulia Madrassa, which served as the training centre for JMB terrorists.

After the blast, the NIA uncovered a largescale conspiracy by the JMB to "radicalise, recruit and provide arms training" to its members in India, so they could commit terrorist acts and "wage war against India and Bangladesh". A large stockpile of explosives and handmade grenades were recovered in the course of the investigation.