Terrorist Network Targets Families of West Bengal Ministers Through Female Associate

Kolkata, August 3: The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police has uncovered that the Pakistan-based terrorist-criminal group, known as the ‘Shehzad Bhatti Network’ (SBN), targeted the families of six current members of the West Bengal Cabinet through the female associate of a suspected terrorist, Hamim Mandal. This associate, Arpita Sarkar, was reportedly in constant contact with SBN handlers via encrypted messages on various social media platforms.

Sources from the state police revealed that while Arpita primarily worked with Mandal, SBN handlers began to bypass him and communicated directly with her for instructions. The investigation has also indicated that, in addition to the families of cabinet members, other influential individuals within the state’s administrative framework were targeted by Arpita for ‘honey-trapping’ to extract sensitive information.

Both Mandal and Arpita were arrested last week. Mandal was apprehended first in Burdwan city, located in East Bardhaman district, while Arpita was arrested later that night in Sahibganj, a neighboring state of Jharkhand. The STF seized two mobile phones belonging to the social influencer Arpita. Experts are currently working to decode the encrypted and coded messages exchanged between her and the SBN handlers.

During interrogation, Mandal admitted to introducing Arpita Sarkar to the SBN handlers. However, sources familiar with the case indicated that after recognizing her potential for honey-trapping, the handlers began to contact her directly and provided her with specific instructions.

Initial investigations revealed that Sarkar had initiated contact with several influential individuals in West Bengal, including politicians, with the sole aim of obtaining confidential information. The social media reels she shared across various platforms served as a means to attract these individuals.

Following the questioning of Mandal and Sarkar, investigators traced other social media handles such as ‘Rana’, ‘Uzair’, ‘Abid Jaat333’, and ‘Hamad’. The investigation found that these handles were linked to Pakistani handlers, who had utilized SIM cards from the UK and Mexico.