On Saturday, September 19, National Investigation Agency, NIA has arrested 9 alleged Al Qaeda terrorists from West Bengal & Kerala. 6 of them have been arrested from Murshidabad district of West Bengal & 3 from Ernakulam. NIA alleged it was an Al Qaeda module preparing to cause terror attacks in different parts of India especially in the National Capital. NIA has seized several stuff like country-made arms, ammunitions, explosives, propaganda literatures on radical Islamism etc. from their places. 3 persons arrested from Kerala too were from Domkol, Murshidabad as per reports. Names of boys arrested from West Bengal are Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal & Atiur Rehman. All of them are reported to be residents of Murshidabad.
The news shocked a large section of general people of West Bengal as they never expected a much-hated terror module like Al Qaeda to be operative from their dear State. They took it as further face loss of the State to rest of India and the world. However, the news failed to astonish the politically conscious class of Bengal. Those who are aware of antecedents & political discourse of West Bengal, are informed that the border-district Murshidabad is infamous for almost all sorts of radical Islamic menace since long. I myself had written in the month of May, 2019 in a renowned Bengali Weekly ’SWASTIKA’ that organizations like ISIS & Al Qaeda were working strongly & stealthily in West Bengal. Mentioned there the wide open WB-BANGLADESH border was continuing to endanger National Security. Finally, on last Monday, on the first day of Monsoon Session of the Parliament, MHA has declared active presence of ISIS in WB.
Given below please find certain information that help to frame an idea about Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Murshidabad is a Muslim-majority district with more than 70% Muslim population. As per a joint study by International Council for Research on Women & UNICEF, Murshidabad supplies large no of migrant labourers to different parts of India. And it’s a fact from the ground that a large number of these migrants are Bangladeshis who work in different parts of India & are illegitimate voters of West Bengal. I elaborated the details of this phenomenon earlier in another article. Murshidabad is a known entry-point of Bangladeshi infiltrators in India. Antecedents of the district clearly indicate that it is a jihadi-hot-bed with strong presence of the organization called Popular Front of India. It’s noteworthy that PFI is allegedly the prime organizer of Delhi Riot & the recent riot in Bangalore. Murshidabad MP, Abu Taher Khan has direct connection with PFI as he was the prime speaker in an anti-CAA rally organized by PFI on January 5 this year in Baharampur.
How strongly grounded Jihadis are in Murshidabad may be plotted by tracking some facts with due attention. The first-ever anti-CAA riot of India kick-started first in Beldanga, Murshidabad on December 13, 2019, Friday. It was Murshidabad that inaugurated anti-CAA mayhem in India. CAA was passed on Dec 12, 2019 in Rajyasabha. After that, they didn’t require even a single day extra to incite draconian violence with huge mob at Beldanga. The mob attacked railway offices & RPF personnel first, cut-off railway signals, uprooted rail tracks & burnt trains. As locals & railway officials called for fire brigade, the mob burnt down even the fire brigade vehicles that arrived to extinguish the fire. That they could burn down large vehicles like trains & fire brigade, proved their impeccable preparedness to riot & arson. The manpower & other resources to organize a riot of this magnitude overnight requires ever-preparedness. Murshidabad remains ever-prepared for such things indicating strong presence of radical Islamic organizations like PFI.
In this regard, to provide the reader a better feel of how Murshidabad is as a place, it would be relevant to mention that in July, 2020 there was a bomb blast in Ahiran area under Suti Police Station of Murshidabad. Suti is a part of Jangipur Loksabha Constituency. Two persons died in the blast namely Situ Sheikh and Maharul Shiekh, who were residents of other areas of the district. The blast happened in the house of a person named Kaizuddin who fled away. It would also be relevant to mention that on September 1, 2020, Maa Kaali Idol of Alampur Kaali Temple was burnt. The temple is located under Naoda PS near Beldanga. Murshidabad Police declared the incident to be an accident & got a written declaration in congruence from the Temple Secretary, Sri Sukhdev Bajpai. However, those who are aware of antecedents of Murshidabad, have no reason to believe it to be an accident. It needs to be mentioned that ornaments of Maa Kaali Idol of Alampur Kaali Temple got stolen in the recent past & the same idol got burnt on September 1. Murshidabad is also a prominent drug station of West Bengal. All such facts put together elucidate Murshidabad as a hot bed for radical Islamic menace. Hence, presence of terrorists there is not unexpected. No wonder if even ‘dinosaurs’ come out of that place. A large section of people in WB are aggrieved that GOI is not doing enough to curb Anti-India activities on the soil of Bengal.
Media in West Bengal is ever-prepared to airbrush such menace. A section of media portrayed as if the arrested alleged Al Qaeda terrorists of Murshidabad are innocent things like engineering students, poor migrant workers etc. Melodramatic, emotionally charged portrayal appears to aim at manipulating public mind in favour of dangerous terrorists who were silently engrossed in cold-blooded planning to kill lacs of innocent people in order to terrorize India. Media is playing a massive role to drag public-sympathy towards such people & trying to airbrush the grave crimes against humanity. Media behaviour reminds those lines of Tagore that mean—let flares of repugnance put ablaze, as grasses go aflame, one who does injustice & also the other who tolerates it (anyay je kore, aar anyay je sohe, tobo ghrina jeno tare trinosomo dohe”—as written by Rabindranath Tagore). Bengal media needs to be condemned to uphold Tagore, to save humanity.
IT Cell chief of Bharatiya Janata Party, Sri Amit Malviya had indirectly accused Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Indian National Congress in this regard as Murshidabad had been a stronghold of Congress with Adhir Chowdhury being the MP from Baharampur Parliamentary Constituency of Murshidabad district. Adhir Chowdhury, however, has hailed NIA’s performance & expressed grave concern about Al Qaeda terrorists being present in Murshidabad. However, it needs to be mentioned that Adhir Chowdhury’s followers rallied in support of Rhea Chakraborty in Baharampur. As Murshidabad is an infamous drug station too, doubts were raised if Indian National Congress’s rally in support of Rhea had anything to do to empathize the local drug-peddling ecosystem or not.
However, TMC MP of Murshidabad Parliamentary Constituency, Abu Taher Khan said if NIA had arrested 6 people from Murshidabad merely in order to tarnish Mamata Banerjee’s image, then they’d protest against it. This Abu Taher Khan was a speaker in PFI’s anti-CAA rally at Baharampur on Jan 5, 2020.
Another spokesperson of TMC said in a National media that arresting of boys from Murshidabad was an election gimmick. However, as Murshidabad existed as a hub of almost all sorts of radical Islamic menace since long & never had a clean image as a district, arresting of suspected terrorists from there had very little probability, if any, of being gimmick. Abu Taher Khan said they’re clueless about who the arrested boys were & what did they do. Khan’s statement implied Murshidabad Police was completely unaware of all these happenings in the district. Did he indicate Murshidabad Police was worthless? However, even if they were worthless, did Abu Taher Khan take any action against them as a legislator of Murshidabad? He didn’t. Abu Taher Khan’s statement indirectly tarnished the image of WB Govt’s Home Department & also his own image. Khan indirectly admitted himself to be a worthless legislator who’s unaware of discourse in his own Constituency.
Why did Khan spontaneously utter that NIA’s arrest of 6 boys from Murshidabad was to tarnish Mamata Banerjee’s image? Won’t it affect Khan’s own image? Being MP of Murshidabad, would he be able to remain unaccountable? Would only West Bengal CM be held responsible? Was this a clever statement from Abu Taher Khan attempting to consciously shift the sole blame to Mamata Banerjee & relieve himself of the load? Questions are taking rounds in Bengal.
Debjani Bhattacharyya