Jamaat-TMC, link under scanner
The talk of West Bengal-Bangladesh and terrorism has once again brought to focus, the allegations several leaders from the Trinamool Congress are facing regarding sheltering of Jammat-e-Islami and the Chaatra Shibir operatives.
Intelligence Bureau officials tellrediff.com that there is a major drive that has been undertaken in Bangladesh to drive out members of these outfits and they have taken shelter in West Bengal. IB reports would suggest that several of these members have taken shelter with the help of politicians whose names have come under a lot of scrutiny. The IB is closing monitoring these links and a couple of names including one who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha.
The IB says that it has been probing these links and what has been found is that some MP’s who have had close links with the SIMI for several years now are the ones who help shield the Jamaat militants who have taken shelter in India. The IB further adds that these militants have it pretty easy due to local support which comes from a very high level. There was a major drive in Bangladesh undertaken to capture these militants who are enemies of peace and as the drive was launched nearly 40 of them escaped into West Bengal, the Intelligence Bureau also points out.
The Intelligence Bureau report states that there are several Madrasas which were not sanctioned and continued to run in West Bengal. Several of these members who escaped from Bangladesh have taken shelter and there is a good cadre of SIMI members who continue to exist who only add to the problem.
Like in the case of Bihar, the agencies have found it extremely hard to track down militants of the Jamaat in West Bengal. While in Bihar it was the Indian Mujahideen head ache, in West Bengal it is the Jamaat and the SIMI. They land in West Bengal and then are whisked away to remote to areas of the state. Even the local police does not appear to be doing much in this regard and the sharing of information regarding these persons is never forthcoming. Very often it has been found that the police are deliberately tight lipped due to pressure from the top, an officer with the IB also pointed out.
The TMC has very often been accused of patronising the politics of religious fundamentalism. Biman Bose of the Left Front had said that the TMC was shielding Islamic fundamentalists who have been rejected by Bangladesh. “When Bangladesh police operate in Satkhira and Jamaat cadres have to flee, they get shelter from the Trinamul MP in Basirhat,” Biman Bose had alleged. Bose also made an allegation against Ahmed Hassan who was sent to the Rajya Sabha and said that he was close to the Jamaat and was a correspondent of the Jamaat’s newspaper, Naya Diganta. He feels that this is an attempt that is deliberately being made to disrupt a drive undertaken by Shaikh Hasina in Bangladesh and indirectly they end up appeasing the Jamaat.
A few days back Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, member of the Awami League in Bangladesh too had raised the same issue. He made a request to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee to hand over Jamaat-e-Islami terrorists who had taken shelter in India. Selim urged India not to harbour these terrorists, who he said fled to the neighbouring country during the joint force’s recent operation in Satkhira.
Security agencies say that the situation appears to be going from bad to worse and there are clear instructions to put anyone supporting Bangaldeshi militants on the radar. It may start off as a problem in West Bengal only and there is a good chance that it spread to the rest of the country. The SIMI which has taken refuge in Bangladesh has already shown what it is capable of. The operations of the Indian Mujahideen thanks to Amir Reza Khan were largely witnessed in Bangladesh. The protecting of Jamaat operatives who naturally ally with the radical wing of the SIMI only adds to the problem. With their help they will smuggle arms and ammunition and the Home Ministry note to this effect also elaborates on this point. The Home Ministry says that West Bengal is the easiest route for Bangladeshi militants to smuggle in arms and ammunition. The radical SIMI on the other hand will aide this a great deal since they have a lot of benefit as they are looking to carry out strikes in India. There is a sizeable SIMI cadre which relies on political support as a result of which this Bangladesh militant issue too has blown out of proportion, Intelligence Bureau officials point out. It is important for India to share a good rapport with Bangladesh since we face a common terrorism problem. Bangladesh does expect us to hand over these militants and also cooperate from them in case we need to expect the same from them, IB officials also pointed out.
Source http://vickynanjappa.com/2014/02/12/jamaat-tmc-link-under-scanner/
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