Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that a total of 114 “Jihadis” have been arrested from different parts of the state in the last 10 years, including 40 this year.
In a written reply to a query by Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed in the Assam Assembly, Sarma said that out of the 114 “Jihadis”, 65 were members of banned terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and nine were from Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
The list also includes 40 cadres of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) who were arrested in March this year, the chief minister said in a separate reply to BJP legislator Terash Gowalla.
“Out of the 114 cadres, the cases of 23 arrested people were transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the probe. Of the remaining 91 nabbed people, the cases of 54 were still pending investigation, while charge sheets were filed in the cases of the remaining 37 and they were undergoing trial,” he said.
Sarma, who holds the Home portfolio, said Meghalaya’s North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) has completed mapping of ‘char’ (sandbar) areas across Assam.
The ‘char’ areas in the state are mostly inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims.
He said Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Morigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara districts have been identified as bases of “Jihadi activities” in the state.
“Foreign nationals are involved in Jihadi activities. Out of such countries, Bangladesh is the most prominent one,” Sarma told the House.
Out of the 40 people arrested this year, two are women hailing from Morigaon and Dhubri districts, he said.
Asked about the definition of a Jihadi, Sarma said, “The member of a fundamentalist group who supports terrorism by use of weapons is called a Jihadi.”
“Waging of war by Muslim fundamentalist organisations against opponents of Islam, citing the reason that the religion is in danger, is called Jihad. The members of such fundamentalist groups are called Jihadis,” he added.
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