West Bengal STF arrests Jharkhand woman in suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed module investigation

The West Bengal STF has arrested a woman from Jharkhand for allegedly assisting suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Mohammad Hamim Mondal by helping establish political contacts and collect personal information. Investigators are examining whether the information was intended for terror-related activities

Kolkata: The West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a woman from neighbouring Jharkhand in connection with its investigation into suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Mohammad Hamim Mondal, who was nabbed from Bardhaman town, officials said on Saturday.

The woman, identified as Arpita Sarkar, was arrested from Sahibganj district of Jharkhand on Friday, they said.

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Sarkar, a resident of the Barharwa area of Sahibganj, was allegedly in regular contact with Mondal through WhatsApp, officials said, adding that chats between the two had been recovered during the investigation.

The STF arrested Mondal from his rented apartment at a housing complex in Bardhaman town on Thursday. He is suspected to be part of an ISI-backed network tasked with collecting intelligence on VIPs, including BJP leaders, recruiting operatives and laying the groundwork for possible terror activities in the state, they said.

Mondal allegedly used Sarkar to establish contacts with influential political leaders in West Bengal and collect personal information about them, they said.

“Sarkar allegedly played a key role in a ‘honey-trap’ network used to lure targets as part of the suspected module’s activities. Our investigation suggests that the accused attempted to build a network to access sensitive personal information of certain political personalities,” an official said.

“The woman was allegedly used to develop contacts and facilitate the collection of such information. We are verifying the digital evidence and examining the exact nature of her role,” he added.

The woman has already been brought to Purba Bardhaman, and is scheduled to be produced before a court later in the day.

It is being probed whether the information allegedly collected by her was intended to be used for planning attacks, officials said.

Police said Mondal’s ancestral home is in Dirghanagar village in the Monteswar police station area in Purba Bardhaman. His father, Moniruddin, has been living in Howrah’s Pilkhana area since 1998 for work.

Mondal, along with his family, had recently shifted to the rented flat at the housing complex, from where he was arrested, they said.